A new breed of evil

Chapters

Prologue
01 A new monster awakes
03 When extremes clash
04 Experiments everywhere
05 Stubbornness pays the highest price
06 Revelations of the monster
07 Letting go
08 The oncoming storm
09 The nightmares begin
10 Family reunion with interest
11 As cold as stone
12 For whom the bell tolls
13 Drop dead, cadet
14 Peeking doesn't hurt, does it?
15 Questions arise, but no answers
16 Supreme hierarchy
17 Fillies remain fillies
18 Investigations get one somewhere
19 Whispermare
20 Whisper no more
22 The chase is on
23 Emerald Masquerade
24 To go back, or not to go back
25 Of fillies, dragons and nightmares
26 Facing the unbelievable
27 Getting closer to the truth
28 The biggest picture
29 Friends united, and seperated
30 The brink of war
31 The beginning of the end
32 The decisive blow
Epilogue
02 Rejections and discoveries of a lifetime
21 Not every present is a good one

Prologue

A loud thunder roll did its turn over the rustic little town of Ponyville. Many shocked themselves in fear when the sudden burst of lightning and deafening sound did their turn. A storm had broken loose over the little town. A storm that was a lot heavier than each of its residents could ever expected it to become.

Some managed to find their calm in the mysterious storm. Applejack for example, was the hardworking, honest farmer and cowgirl who had done all of her duties and secured everything for the raging storm. She found herself together with her family and sat safely inside the house as they shared stories of long ago. Granny Smith spoke the most as she had done the most in her life. Each of her grandchildren hung on her lips while she spoke about the young days of her life. How she worked her way up to the standards of where their Acres was.

Some would found themselves intrigued by the storm. Pinkie Pie for example, was the young and energetic earth pony mare couldn't get enough of all of the flashy lights and sounds that made her snort like a filly. Every time just before a new flash of lightning would appear, she pulled a silly face before her window and held it until the rolling came down. It almost seemed that if she was taking photos of herself in that manner.

Others would found themselves scared to death by the howling winds and rain. Fluttershy for example, had laid down on the couch within her cottage. She had the blankets pulled firm over herself. She shivered as deep as she could while her fears for the storm affected her deeper than thought. All of the little critters that had sought up shelter within her home, tried to comfort the terrified pegasus. Each of them would do something, even if it was in a vague attempt, to lift her mood up and show her that it wasn't all that scary.

Some would found themselves wondering how it could even had happened. Rainbow Dash for example, was Ponyville’s weathermaster and found herself staring with a set of big, magenta colored eyes to the raging storm. There were countless thoughts that raced through her body. The mare shook her head in utter disbelief. She couldn't wrap her head around that what was shown to her. Without a second thought in her mind rushed the daredevil of a pegasus over to the front door of her cloud palace and she opened it.

The pegasus found herself in the pouring rain and blinked only up to the skies. “How is this..?” Rainbow spoke up to herself before she made herself ready to just depart into the skies. As her wings unfolded themselves from her sides before she took one leap into the air and she was off. She was back in her element within the skies. Behind her tail she always left a rainbow colored rainbow trail and the mare did her best to not get hit by the lightning of the storm. “They never told me anything about this to happen. They never gave me instructions... Who do they think they are!?” the mare muttered to herself.

Rainbow soared up to the dark clouds and before she knew it, she found herself deep within them. Deep within their dark hollowness was she flying. The pegasus turned herself in every direction in the hope to see things that would indicate that where she hoped for. But no matter where she looked, there was nothing to be seen before her.

There was a new flash of lightning which showed itself, it lit up the dark clouds and Rainbow was able to make up something that resembled a face. A face that she knew all too well, yet was different. “...No way,” she spoke to herself before the roaring sounds caused her to lose her concentration. The pegasus dropped herself towards the ground for hundreds of meters before her wings would set her on course once more. But the image she saw was printed on her retina.

~~~~

Where others got together to share stories, watched the power in awe, hid away from it or inspected it, there was a certain mulberry, unicorn mare who was different from all of the others. The mare lived within a hollowed out tree near the middle of the town. A building that both figured as her living space and job. The town’s own library and at the helm stood nopony else then Twilight Sparkle. The founder of the elements of harmony in the first time in so many generations.

“Storms come and go. So do my studies,” she spoke to herself. The mare levitated a cup of steaming tea from a nearby table. She brought the cup to her lips and blew some of the steam away before a gentle sip was taken. “Life is a curious thing. Don’t you think, Spike?”

“Huh, what?” a purple scaled, green spiked, baby dragon spoke up as he rose his head out of the basket. The blanket covered most of his head and body. His tired green eyes looked over to his motherly figure and blinked a couple times at the words she spoke. “Come again?” The reason why he saw Twilight as his mother, was due to the fact she was the pony who hatched him from his egg, all those years ago.

“Don’t you think about it sometimes? I mean, what is the purpose of life? Of our lives?” Twilight spoke. She set her cup back on the oaken table before her. “I wish Rarity was here... She always had that strange but philosophical look on the world. A look that even opened my eyes once, remember?”

Spike let out a small groan at the first set of words that were spoken. But as soon as the name of Rarity had fallen in his ears he fixed his attention upon Twilight with a bit of a tilted head. “Is this about that time she showed you there was more than just your studies? You know, that you actually need rest?” he spoke in a questioning tone. Though he began to fear an eruption of her.

Twilight just gave a simple nod at first. She closed her eyes for a little bit. It was true, she had been sitting with her studies for just so long. But on one day when it was just Rarity and herself, it was the white coated, sapphire blue rimmed unicorn that spoke about her past. But also about her point of view in life. It was through that heartbreaking conversation, the young and studious unicorn opened her eyes on a new perspective. A perspective that did conflict a lot with that of her own but one she loved just as much.

“Where is Rarity actually? I haven’t seen her in her home for ages now,” the baby dragon spoke up after a couple minutes of silence and thoughts.

Twilight shocked up out of her way of thoughts and she rested her eyes upon the baby dragon. “I wish I knew Spike, I wish I knew,” she replied while a deep sigh left her body through her nose. Spike nodded to her words and crawled back upon himself in his basket.

“I just hope, she will be alright,” he spoke as his eyes fell shut in order to just fall asleep and to be carried away into the realm ruled by his own mind.

Little did all of them know, what kind of changes had happened to the once so small and friendly unicorn. Not to mention the adventure that was knocking on their doors, if not rolling on their doorsteps. Every soul fears something over the course of their lives. It are those fears that some beings play with like the sick devils they are.

01 A new monster awakes

The rainbow was flowing freely around the six founders of the mythical elements of harmony and headed towards the being that wanted eternal darkness. She just stood still in utter surprise while the horror could only be witnessed. “How is this possible!” she asked out loud to them all. But a worded reply she never got. Instead, she was treated with the rainbows themselves. The colors swirled like a tornado around the dark being and allowed it to be dissolved by its wonderful lights.

The six little ponies kept their eyes closed as their necklaces and tiara did the job. The job of vanquishing the evil and darkness that had been shrouding and living within the heart of the young princess of the night for far over a millennium of time. There was one last screech for help that came from the being who named itself Nightmare Moon. Then it was destroyed and the swirling rainbows expanded on themselves.

A wonderful, white light did its turn through the ruins of what was once a mighty castle, hidden deep within the mysterious Everfree Forest. A light that was bright as the sun yet harmonious as the moon. A light that in and of itself would have been enough to heal the wounds created by the gears of time. That light filled the room, wanting to get rid of the monster inside of it.

Whilst the light faded away from the ruined building, it became apparent that the bodies of the six new bearers of harmony were knocked out unconscious for a bit of time. But on the spot where the being of hatred stood, there laid a mare. A blue coated mare what the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus. The mythical sister and second alicorn had returned from her long lasted torment. She was the mare they all heard from in myths and legends, the younger sister of the princess of the sun named: Luna.

Each of the young mares managed to crawl back up on their hooves. Each of them started to celebrate their victory in their own manner. But it lasted short. For there was another being that teleported itself into the room of the ruin.

All seven of the mares watched in anxiety to who –or what– the being would reveal itself as. Seven sets of eyes all kept their gaze firm on the growing sphere of light. The young, mulberry unicorn carefully allowed her magic to be flowing through her body and horn. She was ready to strike again if that would be needed.

Out of the sphere emerged a set of white feathered wings. A coloring that was even more pure than the coat of the white coated unicorn of the group. Upon the revelation of the wings was it the mulberry mare who held her charge. All of the magic that was flowing through her body had released itself in a calm manner. Her eyes teared from happiness and in slight relief.

It wasn't late after that the sphere erupted out in millions of sparkles. With it did the truth of what the being was, being revealed to them all. It was nopony else then the princess of the sun herself, princess Celestia of Equestria. Her multi colored mane waved majestic in its always waving pattern with a calm set of eyes. The young, tiara wearing unicorn couldn't resist herself anymore. She ran up to her teacher and hugged her for the best she could.

Everypony was overjoyed at their victory and as crème de la crème, it was the younger sister who accepted the friendship of her older sister once again. They would rule over the land as they were meant to be all those years ago. Celestia would take the day whereas Luna would control the night once more. The way it was, the way it would be.

Yet the desperate calls for help from Nightmare Moon didn't go unnoticed. For forces of unspeakable capabilities heeded her calls and rushed their way over to the ruin. They slithered through the shadows while they left traces of a black, tar like substance behind them. A substance that was nothing more than shadow in its liquid form.

The beings of darkness kept themselves strictly to the shadows when they entered the ruin when the ponies were knocked out. The less they gave away from themselves, the better it would be for the living souls. It were nothing more than steaming shadows which hid among the real ones. The shapes of eyes formed themselves at a gentle rate.

The eyes looked over each of the ponies that laid on the ground with great care. But when they all began to wake up it also served as their wake up call. The clouds of shadows merged themselves with another realm. A realm where darkness ruled every single inch of it. A realm where no light could be seen. A realm that stood parallel against the one with light. The void of nothingness, it was called by the few brave unicorns that were ever given a look into it.

Yet even in the realm of nothing there still was something to be seen. The very aura of every being in the room was visible as day. Each of the ponies had an aura around them which the clouds were able to see just that. Their eyes went passed their former ruler and took a look over all the other ponies that were present. They seemed to have shown interest in one of the two unicorn. They spoke a bit against one another in an unknown but ancient sounding tongue.

The clouds kept their eyes going for some time more before they left. They left the old ruin as a whole and slithered back the way they came. Through the shadows back to a place deep within the forest. A place where they would be hiding until the time was ripe. The time when the next queen would be able to stand up.

~~~~

Two years had passed after the events in the ruin. Two long years had made their passage through time. The white coated unicorn opened her eyes once again. The bags under her eyes were clearly visible after she had removed her eye covers. Both of her forelegs made their way over to her face and she rubbed her eyes a bit under a gentle moan of discomfort.

For nearly a year and a half had she been suffering nightmare after nightmare. Dreams of unimaginable cruelty haunted through her mind. Factories of death and friends turned into murderers were just some of them and she couldn't believe it. But the worst of all where the dreams in which her friends just abandoned her. Almost as if she was some old foals toy that was broken.

The mare was always more than happy when the sun played through the curtains of her bedroom. It vanquished the horrible dreams she had that night. It’s gentle rays teased her to get out of bed every morning. But despite the nightmares and lack of sleep from time to time, she still managed to be the beauty that was Rarity.

A fashion designer in mind and soul. Yet aside from that she also happened to be a little philosopher. She always had a different look on that others considered as normal. Her vision was unique to the world but she kept to herself for most of the time. Only her friends and her family heard the wise words she spoke every now and then. It would happen rarely that she shared her ideology with others outside of the group.

Rarity managed to hoist herself out of bed and some bones on her hind legs cracked themselves back into their respectable places. She left her magnificent yet slightly curved bedroom and walked down the white wallpapered hallway to the bathroom. She wanted to take a good shower to wake up the best she could.

The warm waters of the shower made their contact with the body of the unicorn and she released both a small moan as well as shiver of joy. In the end there was a smile which formed itself on her face. The waters would wake her up as the soap cleaned her gorgeous body from even the tiniest bit of filth. With great elegance came a clean body was something she always said to herself.

Eventually had left Rarity the bathroom under the sounds of a gentle hum. The door was left open so the steam could make its exit into the building itself. Her sapphire blue eyes irradiated their warm and inviting look while she walked down the staircase of the boutique. Her mane and tail were wrapped up in a bundle of towels. She wanted to let them dry in a natural manner. Her horn was still free and it charged itself with the light blue, magical aura. All the letters and newspaper were picked up from the doormat. They were brought to the eyes of the mare who turned to her right.

Rarity entered the living room of the multifunctional building while her eyes went over all the letters she had received. Most of them happened to be invoices or orders for dresses that she had to make, or materials she had to pay for. It was something she had been able to judge by the types of envelopes. There then was the usual newspaper that came during the weekends but even below that, there was one letter left. The last letter of the stack was the one that got most of her attention.

The mare rose an eyebrow up in silence. Rarity placed the mysterious letter on the table which stood before the sofa. Even though her curiosity was greatly sparked, she managed to put herself off of it for the time being. The letter was addressed to her personally and written in a writing she remembered from her younger days. Days that went by so long ago. Days she had thought to be forgotten by almost everypony.

The unicorn sat down on the sofa as her eyes looked at all of the invoices and orders she had received for the weeks, if not months to come. By some of the received orders she released a gentle chuckle. That was for the fact they were quite the unique ones she had ever gotten. Those that broke the original standards of things and went their own way. The mare always loved it when such opportunities made their way to her.

~~~~

With the passage of time had she worked her way through the pile of letters and even her weekend newspaper. Outside of the normal articles, there wasn't really something shocking to read in it. With a gentle charge of her horn had she removed all of the unnecessary papers from the table and the orders and invoices got brought over to the working area.

Her warm and friendly eyes laid themselves on the unopened letter. A deep sigh left through her nose before she took it and walked up to her bedroom once again. If it truly contained that what she thought it would, it could change the course of her life in more than one way.

It was impossible for Rarity to keep her eyes off of the letter. The more she looked at the white envelope, the more the thoughts soared through her mind and questions raised themselves. Questions to which the content inside gave answers on. Or so she hoped.

Rarity re-entered her bedroom. With her horn still charged did she open the curtains all the way. She made her way to the window sill. The young mare then did something she found herself doing more and more often with the progression of time. She allowed her bum to take place on the sill before her hind legs crossed themselves a bit. The humming of her horn became a bit more intense. The towels around her head and mane removed themselves. They slid off of her wonderful body and down to the ground. Only to heap up upon the other. The towel around her tail still remained there. It was blocked by her very own legs to make the drop.

Rarity made herself decently comfortable on the sill of the circular window. She placed her head against the wall before her eyes were closed. With doubts in her mind had she opened the envelope and took out the actual letter that was inside. After about a good minute of just fearing what might be written down on it did she do it. The unicorn opened her eyes in an anxious manner. They began to make their way over the wonderfully written down words. Words that could be written down by nopony else but him.

My dearest Rarity,

As first and foremost, allow me to say sorry for what happened ever so long ago. Things didn't really turned themselves out as we both wanted to be. Unfortunate events struck us time after time and eventually, we grew apart from each other. Which is quite the shame actually. For even after all this time, I still do have feelings for you. I can only hope that you are having them for me as well.

I would like to meet you on the thousand second Summer Sun celebration in the old castle in the Everfree. It would mean a lot to me if you came and visit me. Even if it is just to see your face again after such a long time.

With the kindest of regards,

Emerald Masquerade

Her eyes couldn't believe it. No matter how many times she read the letter again, it was just unbelievable for the unicorn. She hadn’t spoken a word to Emerald since their separation in high school. But it also rose a suspicion in the mare. Something told her that not everything was what it seemed. Why would he search up me now, instead of years ago? I am well known in Equestria, if the rumors have to be believed, Rarity thought to herself. There was another deep sigh that made its way through her nostrils.

The sapphire blue eyes separated their ways from the letter and fell on the street the boutique stood on. The ponies that came by didn't even look at the mare behind the window as they were too busy with their own things and needs. A faint smile came to her face while she saw the life what went on, down on the lane.

But then there was something that came to her mind. A thing that made her read the letter again. Thousand second Summer Sun celebration, but, that's today! the unicorn thought and almost in an instant had she removed herself from the sill. With haste she made her way over to the walk-in closet. The towel around her tail was finally given the opportunity to drop itself and that it did with grace. A grace she didn’t had any eye for in the moment.

Luckily for her, she was a unicorn who had mastered that arts of levitation over the years. Combined with her memory, she didn't even had to go into the closet to get the attire she wanted. Her horn still shone in its aura before her mane would have been formed in a more formal manner. Out of the closet there was a pinkish dress that showed itself before her eyes.

With a smile on her face would she have placed the dress around her body. A dress that happened to be a tight fit and was to be completed with a pair of matching gloves for her forelegs and shoes for her hind hooves. A hat in the same color got placed on her head afterwards. She turned herself around to face the mirror. The mare posed a little bit in front of it as her horn discharged itself. The door of her closet had closed itself under their signature thuds.

Rarity was finally ready for her meeting with her long lost friend. Not to mention one of the very few love interests within her busy but humble existence. The stallion that lived under the name of, Emerald Masquerade.

~~~~

The sun stood on its mid noon position and shone its light free over the loved land of Equestria. Not a single cloud made its way over the bright blue skies. The sun was warm and pleasant that it could be felt deep within the Everfree Forest. On the path that the unicorn was venturing, she looked up to the skies with a smile. She tipped her hat a bit more to the back in order to fully enjoy the light. The woods themselves were normally hostile and dangerous. Though on a day like it was, it had a certain and unknown charm to itself. Her pace was a gentle trot but the haste in it was possible to be noticed. She wanted to meet him again but the questions never left her mind.

Rarity moved her head up to the roof of leaves and branches. The birds sang their songs for her to hear. A choir of the best vocalists of the woods gave of an astonishing performance whenever she went by. Her head lowered itself again to the ground. Rarity focused herself on the road head and tipped her hat back. Despite it looking like a trip of leisure, she was on a mission of some sort.

Though the deeper she came into the forest, the more she began to realize why it was called Everfree Forest. Deep within it, there laid secrets dug deep beneath the soils. Secrets that would even indulge fear in the most bravest of hearts. The unicorn knew from stories that were told by Twilight that the woods once housed a tower where the most powerful unicorn of his time lived, Starswirl the Bearded.

A studious stallion much like Twilight herself, he had set is tower in the woods to record its curious weather activity. An activity that wasn't controlled by the pegasi and no matter what they tried, they were never able to get control over it. The stallion became a unicorn of myths and legends through his searches and discoveries. But the woods never gave its secrets away.

Everything within the borders was free. Free from the help of ponies like Rarity herself. Life had found a way to preserve itself on its own. That was the reason why the wild woods close to the rustic little town of Ponyville were called the Everfree Forest.

Rarity tried her best not to think about the unknown factors of the forest. She just continued on her way before she came across a cross-road. On the signs were two locations written down, one would lead her to the nearby woods of White Tails. A place that was known for its fog, which appeared to be moving like tails of white hair. The other road would lead her to the ruin of the castle. The mare allowed her eyes some time to look over the signs before it began to push through her mind that she had to hurry to her destination.

The young mare went down the road which led her over to the old ruin. A road she had wandered on just one time before. Two years ago had she and her friends made their way over there for the first time. It was during their quest to find the elements and stop Nightmare Moon. It brought back many memories of a forgotten time. Times that were different than the ones she lived in afterward. A smile came to Rarity’s face while she trotted down the road.

It didn’t took too long before it fell in her view. The broken down, almost leftovers of the once so mighty castle. A castle that once was a home for the royal sisters. But that was before the massive battle between the sun and the moon waged through it. Then it was left over the gears of time to consume what remained of it. One of the main towers fell in her eyes as the broken stained glass of the main room was to be spotted soon after it.

Rarity allowed herself a gentle sigh of nostalgia before she continued to trot further into it. She got more and more determined to meet with Emerald and she wouldn't back down from it. The fashion designer had passed the point of no return. Literally and figuratively.

~~~~

The mare stood once again in the very room that once housed the elements of harmony. She had a look around the room. She hoped to find the stallion sooner or later. Rarity then realized that just her appearance and hoofsteps wouldn't be enough to make him come to her. So she called his name a couple times before she took off her hat with the help of her magic.

The first calls weren't answered in any form. The unicorn sat down on the steps which led over to an elevated level of the room. Rarity placed her forelegs before her eyes while gentle streams of tears made their way down. Tears of sadness were the kind which came down her face. She thought they could meet each other but the possibilities of what happened could only be two things. Either she was too late and he had left already, or it was just a sick trick played by somepony.

What was unknown to the unicorn, had to be the fact that the exits of the room had sealed themselves off with silent flames of shadow. Shadows that blocked her escape, shadows which forced her to stay in that one particular room. It wasn't long after it that the humming of power could be heard going through the room.

Rarity looked up in curiosity of what came. Under the sounds of a couple sniffles would she have wiped away the tears of sadness. Within her eyes she gained a look of mystery. She stared at the portal that was forming itself in the room. A portal that created itself in midair and appeared to be a swirling tornado on its horizontal side.

Fear was the very first thing which rose up within her body. Rarity crawled back up even more against the steps. Rarity looked over to her sides, towards the doorways of the room. But all she saw where the raging flames of shadow. “Trapped like a mice,” she whispered to herself before her attention turned itself over to the portal.

There were two streams of a black, tar like substance which got spewed out onto the floor of the room. Rarity shivered in a disgusted manner at the scene that happened before her eyes. So naturally, she closed them. The mare didn't even wanted to know what was going to happen to her, or the substance. But had she kept them open it became known that the tar morphed itself into stallion like shapes. Shapes of a stallion that would remind her to Fancy Pants himself. Their appearance was friendly, despite their mysterious origin. Their eyes looked like gems, so bright in color. Once they were fully formed and had a good hold on the ground, they both released a gentle moan into the air. A moan which made the young unicorn crawl up even further away from them.

But it also was through the moan that she opened her eyes and looked at them. Rarity was hit by utmost surprise for what she caught within them. Two perfectly shaped stallions that made their way over to her in a gentle pace. All while streams of shadows left their bodies like a trail of smoke or fog. Rarity only crawled back the more, she realized that they were coming for her instead of having a look around. The dressed unicorn reached the back wall and managed to stand up on all four of her hooves again. Her eyes fell upon the stallions once more.

The thought to use her magic against them did occur in her mind multiple times. But the beings didn't do anything against her yet. In her ladylike mind she didn't had a valid reason to blindly charge them. The mare simply closed her eyes firmly and waited for the inevitable.

~~~~

“Miss, Rarity, we presume,” one of the stallions spoke in a kind, gentlecolt's voice. A voice that was sweet enough to make the terrified mare stop her shivering. With great care had she opened her eyes under a gentle nod. “We, have been following you around for some time now and we both wish to make you an offer. An offer a lady of your capabilities simply can not refuse.”

“W-Where is this all about..? W-Who are you two to begin with it and where is my beloved Emerald?” Rarity managed to speak up in a clearer voice to the both of them. Her eyes kept switching themselves between the stallions before the other opened its mouth to speak.

“We are afraid that mister Masquerade was unable to make the acquaintance, he had purposed in the letter send to you. But as the offer goes. We would like to have you as our queen. Think about it, it is a job so much better than that what you have now. And above all,” the speaker began to gain a deep grin on his face before it continued on with its words, “you will receive subjects that won’t drop you like a brick.” His sapphire eyes never left the face of the unicorn.

“W-What are you talking about. M-Me a q-queen? I find, I find that hard to believe to be honest. And how do you mean by, that won’t drop me?” Rarity replied in utter confusion. She stared at the two stallions and blinked while she shook her head. She truly didn't had a clue just where the two were talking about. She didn’t even wanted to know at that point.

“Your friends will eventually leave you for somepony much better than you. They will drop you like you are nothing more to them then a box of rocks, miss,” the other stallion spoke in its unusual kind voice given the situation. His eyes looked like emeralds and the mare had to do her best to not get lost in them. All because she always loved the color the gem had.

But Rarity wasn't the craziest of unicorns either. She had the feeling something was wrong with them. A feeling that got more confirmed the more she carefully stared at them and the portal they appeared from. Her mind had forgotten about Emerald for the time being. She wanted, or better said, she had to find a way out of the situation she found herself in. “I, I don’t wish to offend either of the fine stallions. But I know more than well that my friends will never just ditch me because I am who I am,” Rarity dared to speak against the two. “And besides, I know them for two years now, if not longer. Never did they show me a sign of hostility. Of course there was the occasional exchange of words with Rainbow and Applejack. But that is no reason for them to just dump either me or them, now is it?”

The words spoken by the unicorn angered the two black stallion deeply but they never showed her any sign of their anger. “Are you sure about that lady? Because lately there have been some rumoring around of meetings between the five of them,” the emerald eyed stallion spoke to her. He had begun to paced a little around in a nonchalant manner before her.

“And, how do you know that if I may ask? You two haven’t been spying on us now have you?” Rarity spoke up with a raised eyebrow.

“We know it, simply because it is truth, lady,” the sapphire eyed stallion spoke in a bit of a saddened voice. “Friends always leave you in the far end. Whether you like it or not, they just do. But we, we shall never leave your side.”

“I still find it terribly hard to believe to be honest. We are simply inseparable. We have been through the thickest of life with one another and even though we share our differences, we still help each other out when needed,” replied Rarity to the stallions. She tried to keep herself as down to earth as possible. Slip up for a moment, and they would take the moment.

“Though keep in mind, lady Rarity, that without you, our very existence would be just, meaningless,” the emerald eyed stallion spoke. “It is your generosity, that will save us.”

“No! My friends, they need me,” the unicorn spoke before she shook her head against the spoken words. “And how, how do you mean that all? Am, am I some sort of savior?”

“You could sorta say that yes,” the sapphire eyes stallion spoke before the emerald eyed one took over again.

“But do your friends truly need you? Are you sure they wouldn't just reject your gifts when somepony else comes along then? Somepony with a bit less attitude, perhaps?” he spoke in a persuading tone. The tone was powerful enough to make the unicorn think about the words in a deep consideration. She began to remember her everlasting nightmares of her friends separating with her. The horrid dreams that had been hammering against her mind for such a long time.

Dreams of sheer horror did their turn before her eyes once again. “N-No... They wouldn't,” she whispered inaudible to herself as well as to the both of them. A lie wrapped as the truth.

~~~~

The unicorn found herself standing in the working area of her boutique. There was a questioning gaze in her eyes while the words of Twilight echoed within her mind. “No thanks, Rarity,” the mulberry mare spoke while she shivered from a set of perfectly made saddlebags. Everything the studious unicorn could dream about was simply present within it yet she was horrified by it.

“But I made it just for you...” Rarity spoke in a confused tone. Within her mind she didn't understood just why one of her best friends would reject such a wonderful gift. They always had accepted them from her in times before. “Could, could you at least tell me what... Twilight?”

The unicorn had already left the room and Rarity blinked a couple times. She set the saddle bags back to the ground. She removed her glasses from her nose and gently rubbed her eyes. “Could it be that, that your skill starts to lack, Rary?” she mumbled in herself. Her legs brought her to the front door of the building. “No, the stitch lines were perfect, the color matches everything... Why wouldn't..?” Hundreds of different questions soared through her mind, hoping for an answer.

When she came on the street, she saw a sight that no matter how many times she saw it in her dreams, still managed to tear her heart into two pieces. All five of her friends stood around a nerdy looking pony as Twilight wore a new set of saddlebags. A horrible made set of saddlebags, with the name of Twilite stitched on it. The unicorn actually appeared to be in love with the bags as she spoke her words. “Maybelle, you’re so generous! I don’t know what we’d do without you,” she spoke in a genuine, happy tone.

Deep within her heart could Rarity feel the knife that stabbed through it in a vicious manner. She wanted to puke at the sight and turn her head away. But forces greater than her own blocked her from doing so. “She, she didn't even spell your name right, Twily,” the other unicorn mumbled to herself as she blinked a couple times in the attempt that her eyes were lying to her.

“That’s so awesome!” Rainbow spoke up as her only reaction to the saddlebags. Pinkie Pie hopped around the group as her usual happy self. Both Fluttershy and Applejack just watched over the events as they unfolded themselves with a happy smile on their faces. Rarity just stood by on a distance and was just unable to move herself. She had gained a defeated look in her eyes and a tear made its way down her cheeks before it hit the ground. She couldn't believe the events that happened before her very own eyes.

~~~~

As soon as the tear made contact with the ground, everything around the unicorn slowly turned itself in a vortex of pure darkness, fog and lightning flashes as she desperately spoke her words against the images of her friends. “Please, let me help... Don’t forget about me, please!”

But none of them would listen to her. Rainbow flew away without a word. Twilight looked at her with a leaning look before she parted their ways in silence. The helpless unicorn could feel the warm knife piercing itself through her body once again. And once again it struck her right in her heart before her eyes turned themselves over to the three remaining ponies.

“We don’t need anything from you, Rarity!” Pinkie yelled before she disappeared within the vortex.

“And we never will!” Applejack yelled at her turn. And then she was just off. Off to do her own things and she also disappeared within the vortex. Out of her sight.

“Yeah,” was the only thing spoken by her dearest friend, Fluttershy. The unicorn and the pegasus had been through a lot together and it all ended with such a simple little word. The yellow coated pegasus took off from the ground and she also disappeared within the vortex of shadows. Rarity was then alone, her eyes made their way through the vortex as more and more tears slowly started to stream down her face. Tears that came forth of a sadness she had never suffered before. The loss of ponies dear to her.

The three final nails of her coffin got hammered into the wood under three large bangs. Whereas the knife did three more stabs through her heart. It was by then that her heart was nothing more but a leaking pool of sadness.

~~~~

Rarity shocked out of the dream that took place within her mind for mere minutes, but was in reality just a few seconds. Her sapphire blue eyes fell upon the two stallions of shadow. She reached for her chest in desperation. Rarity tried to feel if she was actually wounded but there was nothing to be found except the emotional scarring. Her eyes then moved themselves up to the two black stallions with a set of tears which streamed down her cheeks.

“They wouldn't forget me, would they?” she questioned not only to herself, but also to them. The poor unicorn was in a complete state of doubt. Nothing in her own mind added up against each other anymore as the two stallion made great use of the opportunity that had been opening itself before them.

“Stay with us and your kindness would never be taken for granted,” the sapphire eyed stallion spoke to her. He was once again trying to persuade her for the offer.

“You would never be forgotten,” the emerald eyed one added. Out of the portal there was a small stream of smoke that emerged. A stream that headed straight towards the poor unicorn and the very tip of it was covered in magic. Rarity was too blind to see the incoming stream. She kept blinking to herself in her own sadness. Her mind wondered off to many things unknown to her.

But then she felt the contact that was made. The magic of the stream clashed against her horn. “Never?” she asked with a soft and trembling tone. “I just want to help...” The stream circled itself down the magical extender that was given to her by birth and more streams of shadows swirled around her body. It all tried to gain a hold on the poor and powerless unicorn.

“And you will help,” the emerald eyed stallion spoke up once again. “More than you ever dreamed.”

The shadows managed to get a hold of the humble unicorn. They slowly covered her within their misty selves. The barrier became so thick that the stallions were unable to see her, no matter which realm they would go into. The sounds of clothing being ripped to pieces took its turn through their ears before some flashes showed it. The terrible reality that was still forming itself.

The first one showed an elongated body, the second flash a much larger horn, the third and final one revealed a mane that was only known by the princesses of the land. The stallions looked at each other for a moment before they returned their attention over to the thick fog once again. It was the emerald eyed one which dared to open its mouth towards the sight. “Rarity?” it brought forth in a careful tone. Almost as if he was afraid for what was about to happen.

But the reply he got was everything but what they expected. Deep within the foggy smoke, there was a set of eyes which rushed forward into their direction. A set of eyes that looked like the eyes of a cat with blue irises which opened and thus revealed themselves to the world. But the eyes had something different about them, for they had sparkles in them. Sparkles that looked like the gems from the cutie mark of Rarity.

The eyelashes were undoubtedly those from the unicorn tailor. But when the being within the fog spoke up, it released a tone nopony ever wanted to hear again. A tone that was meant to indulge fear in even the bravest of hearts. A tone that was colder than stone or ice, yet as refined as the most proper lady. Then came the words it desired to speak.

“Rarity, is dead.”

03 When extremes clash

“She’ll come back, Spike, trust me on that fact,” said Twilight while the moon stood high in the skies. Her body could be found covered up by the blankets of her bed. Yet her one opened eye looked over to the baby dragon in the basket.

“Yeah, that’s what you said to me all day. But who knows what happened to her. You can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Spike then groaned in return. The little, purple scaled dragon was still trying to make himself comfortable within the basket. The blankets got thrown into the air before just covering the thing as a whole. Annoyed was the best description for his mood.

“That’s the problem, Spike, I have said it to you when they left the library, we don’t know where she is, we don’t know just where to search for her. She could be in the Frozen North from all we know,” Twilight then replied before she turned herself over to the window. With the magic that collected itself around her horn was one of the curtains moved aside.

What fell into the room was the wonderful light of the full moon. The other eye opened itself as well to see it. Just before it would be rubbed with a hoof and a yawn ended the motions of the mare. She wanted to help to find her lost friend more than anything, but there was just so little information known about her location. That was the key lead that she needed. If that would have been known to her, she wouldn't be sitting in her library, doubting and waiting.

No, Twilight would be outside. She would be sleeping under the starry night with Spike close to her. Alongside the road that would lead them to their destination. But she had nothing, and that was the very thing the gnawed on her more than anything.

“Can’t you send a letter to Shining Armor with the question if he had seen anything? I mean, she isn't that hard to notice. Especially there,” Spike said in a soft voice. He hid away from the invading moonlight. A slight grumble left him while he wanted to sleep, but obviously it was Twilight who had other plans when it came to it.

“I could do it of course, but that only adds more pressure to the duties my brother already has. Not to mention, the crystal guards are quite different than the celestial and lunar,” she replied.

The head of the baby dragon popped out of the blanket mess he had wrapped himself in. He looked over to the bed of Twilight. “You mean, they’re made out of crystal, like the celestial is pegasus and the lunar bat pony?” Spike said with a tilted head towards her.

Twilight allowed herself a single giggle to leave before she turned her head back over to Spike. With a graceful motion did her mane flew through the air before it came to standstill again. Though there was a much more worried look that grew above her muzzle. “I wish it was that easy Spike, but the problem is, that there are just so little guards there. Shining might be a prince and captain of the Crystalline Guard, but their numbers are few. None roam the Empire’s pavements and those few that are, are within the walls of the palace. Meaning that a guard spotting her, is almost nonexistent,” she explained to him.

Even though the clock had gone well past midnight, even though the sleep was almost getting the better of the two of them, Spike still heard every single word that was spoken by Twilight. Which made his own suspicion only grew more towards her. Of course it were the most radical of thoughts and most of them were unheard from, but he loved her more than anything in the wide world. With a deep sigh, Spike knew he had to ask Twilight the unaskable question.

“You…” Twilight looked up from the word and raised one of her own eyebrows to listen to the rest. “You aren't holding anything back for me…are you?” The high word was out from him. All Spike could do was pray on the fact that Twilight took it a lot lighter than he could have imagined. But the chances were slim and he knew that all too well.

~~~~

Taken by a complete surprise from the question asked to her, Twilight gently closed her eyes before she shook her head a couple of times from side to side. Surely she must have lost something in the transition. Had he really called her a morpher of the truth? He was doubting her trust even after it was her who hatched him from the egg to begin with?

Deeply offended by the words of mistrust, Twilight let out a deep sigh through her nostrils and she opened her eyes to look at him. But the look that was given to the dragon was everything but a friendly or motherly one. It was one of disappointment.

Spike looked into the violet eyes of the unicorn and read the emotion like an open book. Then there was the feeling of being more than stupid that rose up within him. He had mistrusted his motherly figure, the only pony that truly cared for him as a mother. “I, I shouldn't have asked it,” he spoke up in a tone that was filled with nothing but regret.

Twilight’s ears twitched a bit when they caught the words spoken. Yet decided quickly to not go in against them. What happened had happened and there wasn't anything that could be changed on it. Though the question was remained unanswered. And if there was one thing she had a growing dislike on, it was that. Against her will had the mulberry unicorn opened her mouth to speak the words on her mind. Her answer to the unspeakable question.

“No Spike,” she started with a unintentional tone of disappointment. “I’m not holding back on anything. If there was anything, no matter how small on finding her, I would have told you right away. But there is, nothing. It’s like… staring into the void if reality and expecting to see… To see why we are here as we are.”

The baby dragon listened with great care to the rather difficult to understand words for him. After them he released a sigh of his own. With a nod towards her had he dropped himself back into the basket to get his much needed sleep. It was something that the two of them needed more than anything. All in order to set their minds and spirits straight again.

“Goodnight Spike,” Twilight spoke up in a soft tone. The energy of her horn disappeared and the curtain fell back. The light of the moon was let out of the room which shrouded itself in darkness once more. The body of the unicorn gently returned back to the mattress and the pillow before the eyes were closed. She was off into the realm of the dreams faster than originally thought.

But one other entity had its hoofs full with the task that was given before it. It didn't sleep for the night but was doing something else. Something that was a bit more active which was reading.

~~~~

Because back in the library of the darker arts in magic, was the entity that called itself Nightmare Rarity still busy. Scroll after scroll was being opened and read. The tomes they held within them were stored from the paper in another place. Each one of the horrible things ended up in the mind of the being. Stored there for usage later on in time.

Yet as the eyes went over the things, there was one thing that they all had in common and it was almost impossible not to notice. Under the light of the magical aura, there was one word that made its constant return on the paper scrolls. And that words was nothing else but fear.

The scrolls contained spells on how to control the very things ponies were afraid of and how to use them effectively against them. Where Nightmare Moon was all up in the face and king Sombra more working in the shadows, these spells were the perfect mixture of the two kinds. Hidden deep enough to remain a mystery, in the face enough to be effective. Almost like the entity itself. Those were the kind of powers she had been looking for to master. And the gem that was found next to them would become a greater value to Nightmare Rarity then she would have ever thought it to be.

“Perfection shall be achieved,” she mumbled to herself before erupting out in a maniacal laughter. But it couldn't be helped to notice that the spells were easier to understand than originally thought. The transition from going to mind to action was something that was a true lot easier than any other spell.

When Rarity was still her seamstress self, her abilities in magic were mostly just centered around the power and act of levitation. It was her strongest spell outside of some magical bolts that were known to each unicorn. She had tried to learn more spells of course over the course of time, but it didn't matter to her at all. All of the tomes she tried to get inside of her head were rejected almost right away.

It was never that she saw the mighty arcane symbols before her eyes and the words whispering in her ears. But when the entity removed the scroll from before its very face were the eyes seen in their fullest of glories and within them they sparked. All of the symbols from the tomes in the magical arts. Floating around like little stars to each outer corner of the eye.

It would be there where they would nestle themselves until the end of time or her existence. Whichever came first for the being. It was a rare and unique sight to behold as not many creatures had the symbols of the spells within their very eyes. Not even one of the three royals had it. Yet an easy explanation could be given for it. Neither of the three were learning the tomes at the rate Nightmare Rarity was doing.

Though as the scrolls were being read, the information was being stored within her brain. Yet there happened to be a third thing that was happening at that very moment in time. A fire had emerged. A fire was starting to rage inside of the tainted heart of the entity. A fire that was unspeakable of for most ponies in the land of friendship and harmony.

Because it would be the fires that she was feeling at that moment in time that would defy the entity’s existence and purpose in life itself. It would be the driving force for the actions to come done by her hooves and horn. The spells of fear needed a host to thrive on. There was without a doubt no better fear, then the fear that raged through the heart of the entity.

The lies used by the two shadow stallions named Fright and Blood were still present deep within the body. The fear of the five friends leaving her like dirt was still present within. And it would be from the deepest parts of that fear, that the magic would draw its power.

Fear that was being used to spread even more fear over corners of the wind, something that hasn't been seen for the ages. Not even Nightmare Moon could have come up with the idea if she tried. Her mind was too much lurking towards the power side of the darkened magic. Sombra would have used mostly tyranny and deception to get his way with his disloyal subjects back when he ruled.

No, what she had created, what Rarity had become, was a true new breed of evil.

~~~~

Way back on the outside and lying against the walls of the fogyish chamber, the clouds of shadow all had taken the opportunity to just lay down for the time being. Vastly asleep to regain their strengths was much needed and outside of the singular cloud that stood on watch, everything was even more silent than a graveyard.

Not even the treacherous Shadowfright and Shadowblood were awake to discuss the events as they were for their queen. They were vast asleep in a world without dreams they found themselves. A world that was just as empty as they were. A void of shadow and nothing else. A saddening place it was indeed. And in that place, they still found their very rest.

Yet it worst part was, it was the place they were born. They hailed from deep within the void of darkness. The time from twilight till dusk was there they were pulled away from a thousand years by Moon to become her servants. A duty that carried on as long as a Nightmare was still alive.

Their duties being to protect the one in charge while the plans were being forged. They were nothing more than useless foot soldiers. However, during the banishment of Moon, the two in particular developed a mind of their own which was used to forge the plan for Rarity’s trap. But it wouldn't be enough for them. They wanted to arise and become the kings of the nightmare forces.

~~~~

Back inside of the library had the entity of Nightmare Rarity placed her eyes over the final scroll. She turned herself around before rolling it up again. With grace she flew and hovered back to the entrance of the place. Her head was filled with the spells, her mind as sharp as a knife and her mood crazy enough, she began the ascent back up.

The only cloud that was still awake saw her coming and nodded towards her in a respectful manner. Though Nightmare Rarity looked at all of her sleeping forces and grumbled deeply to herself. “Wake them up,” she muttered to the guard.

On the command that was given to it, the cloud would release a roar that turned into a screech. A sound filled with the purest agony of any creature was more than enough to get all of the clouds back in the air. Confused of why they were woken up so brutally did all of them gaze over to the cloud that was the being before the connections were being made.

Still not truly sure of the times, none spoke up towards or against her as they caught the starry sprinkles in the corners of her eyes and the magical aura. And it were those eyes, that moved themselves from right to left in a slow manner. Looking at each and every one of the clouds in a manner of utmost disappointment. “I shall not make a comment on the fact that you all but one, were sleeping for the time I have been down here. But that’s a matter to be discussed later. For now, there are greater things on the move and we have to adjust our course and heading.”

“And here I thought she had no idea of where she wanted to go to in the first place,” Blood spoke up with a near silent chuckle to his partner.

“Will you just shut up?” Fright whispered in return. The attention was then focused back on the entity. “I’m trying to listen to what she’s muttering.”

“Fine, fine, fine,” replied Blood to him before the attention was set back on her.

The eyes of the entity never left any of her forces out of them as she continued to speak her words. A speech of power was being produced by her mind and said by her tongue. “With the discovery of this place, hidden right here, there are changes that are going to be made within the plan that was being forged inside of my mind. Instead of continuing the trek more towards the civilized world, we shall set up our base right here. Right here in this very chamber of fog. It shall become your home, my home even. And it shall be from here, where we shall operate to accomplish our goals against the so called wonderful land of Equestria. The soil shall turmoil wherever you step, hearts will freeze at the sights. Any questions that you might have?”

Questions there were without a doubt from the clouds, but none of them even dared to speak against her for the fact that her very eyes send down an ice cold shiver down their spines. And then it moved into the very essence of their creation. So they did the only thing that they could truly do, and that was erupting out in a loud cheer of numerous animalistic sounds to praise their new queen for what she was.

There were also some who stayed dormant in the silence. They had sunken deep into their simplistic thoughts. Rarity was not Moon, that was clear as glass for them. The iron hoof with which she ruled was no more. It hadn't been for a thousand years even. Some dared to doubt the facts as they were. But none had seen the entity in the fullest of power yet.

None had seen the abilities she was capable of. Though the same thing went for Rarity against the forces. She had no idea of what they were capable of, or even what they had done to her. Oblivious to the sheer facts as they were, the entity that was Nightmare Rarity smirked through her own cloud of fog before her eyes turned themselves over to the skies above. The roof of the fogyish room was something that was of major concern to her.

Though that was a problem for later because of the fact that the order needed to be restored. Times to see how she would challenge the land with her new powers would come sooner or later. And the time to make the beings who she once considered to be her friends, was something that both strengthened her and weakened her at the same time. Her mind clashed at any moment when she thought about them.

Troubled and clouded, that was it at the moment for her. Almost like the fog she found herself in. Troubling the travels to be made and clouding the vision of the eyes. “Yes, fog,” she softly mumbled against herself before the eyes lowered themselves again. Once more they went all over the place to witness the army of shadowy clouds before her. But she was looking for two in particular. Two who were responsible for the deeds done against her ivory coated self.

~~~~

“Shadowfright and Shadowblood. I need you two before me, right now,” the entity spoke up. She had to admit that the difficulty was there to spot them clearly through the masses. Both of the clouds were taken by a complete surprise at their mentioning and looked to her in a confused manner. It was, as confused as a sphere of steaming shadow could look.

Impossible that she had heard of our plans, right? Every path we walked had been covered. I swear to you Blood, if you mean the end of me, you’re going down with me, Fright through to himself. Though the two orbs hovered towards their queen in silence.

“My queen,” the both of them spoke at the same time. They made a slight bowing motion with their round shaped bodies. Then it was Fright who decided to take the word further and ask. “Why did you call for us two specifically?” His tone was a careful one, one used to pry the information loose from the subject before them. Even if it was their leader.

“The reason of which why I called the two of you before me, is the fact that you two showed me something else. Something no other of you have showed me before. That being, intelligence. You two can handle yourselves in a fight alone I presume,” said Nightmare Rarity against the two of them. Daring words were spoken out of the mouth of a being unspeakable. Yet the two of them could only nod towards them.

She happened to be right. They could stand themselves when surrounded and would fight back until they were mortally wounded before retreating. “That’s… correct, your nightness,” Blood spoke up in response to her words. It was not in favor of Fright though as he had promised himself to take the words and speak against her.

Since they were with the two of them, it was only fair to share the speaking burden. At least that was the thinking in his mind. “We’re, flattered, by your words my queen. Shall we, take our leave?” Fright asked of her, hoping they were allowed to go.

“No,” the entity replied to them. The pair of eyes rested each upon one cloud before her.

Oh no… this is it, Fright thought. He considered his days to be over at that point. It was impossible for him to even comprehend just how on earth Blood managed to keep himself so calm under the situation. They could face their extinction from the word and he just remained as calm as ever. Blood had either made peace with his life a long time ago, or he didn't understood the severances of the situation as it hung above their head.

Two anvils that were ready to be cut by a blast of magic hung above their heads. But what and why she had truly called them before her, was something completely different. And something they could have never even thought about.

“The two of you, shall raise in the ranks. You two become the commanders of my reign. Standing directly below me when it comes down to orders. Don’t make me regret the choice in the two of you,” the entity spoke towards them in an honorable tone. That was until she reached the final part, after which it was just sinister.

The two clouds of shadow made a bowing motion towards the queen, After that, they levitated themselves back into the mass of cloud and shadow. Neither of them could truly believe the words that were spoken against them. They stood in command of all the forces that remained. They could –if they wanted– kill her in her sleep and continue on with their own diabolical plans. Unlimited access was that what was given to the two of them.

Content with the words that were spoken, the two of them made a smirking emotion behind their spherical existence and the entity of the unicorn turned herself back around to look over the entrance of the library.

Countless thoughts moved themselves through her mind. Yet she just stared at the gaping hole. Thoughts about how it could be reformed into the fortress she had come up with. Because she was keeping herself to her promise. It would be that patch of land that would be transformed into her domain. A place hidden in the forest covered by the thick fog that was natural to the place. It almost seemed to be too perfect.

But as she kept looking there was something in her mind that made her snicker. There were spells that she could use. Spells that had aided her on more than one point in time. But it were also spells she was afraid of to be seen using in the public view. She happened to be a mistress of the gemastic arts. The art of the gem or gem magic in the common tongue. Not only could she find the most precious of stones in the ground like a metal detector, she could also summon them.

It was the very summoning spell that was something of true interest of her. Because that would mean she would be able to raise a fortress. One made out of the strongest material she had in her possession. That material would be nothing else but pure crystal. It was a plan that was just too beautiful to let it lay left. It would be the way she did it. The way to build a safe haven for herself and her forces of shadow. Their base of operations was one step closer to becoming a frightening reality.

The entity turned itself around and looked over the wall of fog and the very ceiling. The dimensions were being drawn inside of the mind together with the sheer looks of it. The blueprints being made up on the spot, everything was worked out in the finest of details possible.

~~~~

“What do you think she’s doing?” Blood spoke up in a faint whisper to the actions that were clearly visible.

Fright could only guess to the whirlwind of events that was going through that skull of hers as he shook his body in a manner of not knowing. “I truly am having not even the slightest of clues here really.” he then spoke up in all of his honesty. Something that was rare to come by to begin with.

“Then we best pray we can strike before it is truly too late.”

“You think I don’t know that!? But we can’t do it here, not in front of the rest. We need to have a moment with her alone after everything is being established. …Or have you forgotten about Moon already? Luna was as weak as possible. She couldn't even defeat her own sister for bloods sake!” Fright snarled in a whisper.

Blood on the other end, despite being slow and considerable dumb, always had an eye for history in any shape. Written and unwritten, if it had happened, he wanted to know. “Of course I hadn't forgotten about that! And to fill in on that void in that brain of yours, Luna only lost from Celestia because of the fact no soul in this realm or ours knows exactly how powerful she is!”

Then the whispering argument broke loose between the two. Words were snarled to one another in a low tone that the entity couldn't hear it, and their fellow clouds of shadow wouldn't even look around. From the words, it sounded like bits of Nightmare Moon’s lust for power had moved over into one of the two newly assigned commanders.

~~~~

But without a warning of any kind had the magical aura of Nightmare Rarity become much more intense as its bright blue light shone like the sun. The nightmare forces in the first row all hissed like a changeling towards it as they did their best to hide from it in all of their might. It was a desperate attempt though, for the light was so powerful, it almost shone right through them.

Both Fright and Blood dared to look into her direction. They tried to discover just what caused her power output to have changed into that much all of the sudden. For never, ever, had Rarity herself managed to do it on her own. A stronger mixture of the essence of Moon and the already known magical powers from her, combined? But that’s, that shouldn't be possible, Fright thought to himself. He turned himself back into the darkness again in order to keep pondering.

Nightmare Rarity on the other end looked different. She continued on with her magical powers and the light became only brighter and brighter. It caused her troops to retreat back into the fog and natural darkness of the night that had been caring over the woods for times to no end. With the sheer power that was surging through her, she would raise herself up to the being she always secretly had desired to be.

With her heart tangled in the tentacles of her personal fears, were her spells that fed from it like leeches from blood. But where blood would eventually run out, the entity of Rarity –or as she preferred to be called: Nightmare Rarity– was stuck in a vicious circle. She couldn't forget the fact that her friends wanted to leave her like dirt. That were the embers that always would ignite the fires. The very fires from which her devilish powers would feed from with great pleasure.

Not until she had given each of them their reckoning would be time for a new fear to take its place and thus become the dominant fear that would drive her down the path of her own madness. As the light kept shining were the forces retreating and the forest remained calm had Nightmare Rarity decided to speak her words in a tone of utmost sinister. A tone of malice and hatred, but also one of a sickening joy. “And then, the nightmares come.”

~~~~

While the night crawled by for the residents of Ponyville, were none even aware of that what was going on in the woods of White Tails. It was in the home located next to the lake that the young Sweetie Belle allowed her emerald green eyes to be seen by the world. With a yawn she rose up from her pillow and started to rub through her eyes. “Another day… Ugh,” she groaned to herself.

Where she normally was always happy to wake up, the last night had been troublesome for her. Especially when it came down to the matter of her family. After they had separated their way, Magnum was insisting on going out there to find his daughter and her sister. But Pearl kept her hoof strong in the ground by saying they had to wait. It caught the filly right in the middle of it all.

Sweetie knew half about the danger of the situation. Her innocent mind was what saved her from most of the troubles that laid on the outside world. Though it probably more often than not got her and her friends into it for whatever reasoning. It was all in the hunt for their cutie marks. The only thing she was truly looking forward too.

The young filly left her bed with another yawn that was louder then she had thought it would be. She giggled softly in response while a light crimson red blush begun to occupy her cheeks. She moved from her bed over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. And it was then that the always magical sight was revealed to her.

With the morning rays of the sun running into her room, Sweetie giggled a little bit while she rested her head on the sill and just watched to the world outside. The light that shone through the gaps of the trees and the reflection in the water. And at the small dock he could be found, fishing as almost every free day he had, her own father.

Though that wasn't where her mind was working on or busy with. She wanted to snuggle in the hold of Rarity just so badly. It was something, that she truly missed. While it was true that the two had troubles with one another more often than not, it were the precious times they spend together in true harmony that she loved most. And the ivory coated unicorn mare always cherished them with her heart.

“Where have you gone to, sis?” she questioned herself aloud before the head was removed from the sill. It was a question that had been weighing in her mind for days by then. Everypony knew that she was gone, yet nopony could possibly tell her where she had gone too. Not even the mayor of her hometown was able to tell or say even the slightest. “Somepony just can’t vanish from the face of the lands like that, or can it?”

It was a rather troublesome question that she asked herself. One she rather didn't had the answer on to begin with. Though as much as she wanted to have her sister back, the thoughts had to have placed back. For she had said to her friends that they would be doing some more crusading for their cutie marks.

A considerable useful waste of their time. Trouble was something that always laid ahead for the three of them but they always managed to overcome it. Either it be on their own or through some external help. It didn't matter to Sweetie Belle what they would be doing though. As long as it took the thoughts off of her little and innocent mind. A mind that was oddly enough making peace with the decision to keep on waiting for her sister to come back again.

~~~~

The day crawled by like any other and for some it was a relief, to others it was a hellish torture. Spike the dragon found himself wandering through the streets as he had taken a day off to collect his very thought on everything. It went about the past night and the words spoken during the previous day. In his own mind he couldn't believe it.

Through street and lane he wandered without aim to his legs. Wandering like a zombie, he just walked until his legs gave in. It was an endurance test in both the physical degree as well as the mental. Though he considered it more of a torture given by forces higher than the royal alicorns, the first dragons. Hatched and raised in the care of a pony, it had made him forgot most of the draconic manners others lived by. But the ones who ruled over them all, he had never forgotten.

Down on his luck and simply unable to come up with anything else he could do, Spike let the decision fall to go to the place his crush lived. The very building he wasn't truly excited for to see, but had too if he wanted to find anything on the matter. The very home of Rarity, the famous Carousel Boutique.

So with the afternoon sun in his back, the baby dragon made his way over to the street it was located on. No words were spoken nor were there any thoughts that ravaged his mind. Almost like a husk or shell he walked in a consistent pace. The many ponies he passed all looked up in a strange and curious manner towards him as they wondered what in the name of the princesses could have happened to him.

Yet where many wondered, none asked.

When Spike did look up at the building, he saw the posture of Sweetie Belle by it. He shook his head a couple times. The dragon wasn't sure if he had seen it correctly or anything but gambled it on being right. “Hey Sweetie,” the baby dragon spoke up when he was in hearing distance.

The young, white coated, pinkish and white maned filly turned herself around and looked at the dragon with a smile. She hadn’t even jumped when he called her name, meaning she wasn’t that deep in thought. “Hey Spike,” she replied with her usual happy toned voice. “What brings you here today?”

“I think the same question can be asked to you,” Spike then replied. He stood still next to her. Before the filly could make any reply did the eyes of the dragon went up the building that had been gathering dust for the first time in ages.

“I was just… looking,” Sweetie replied as innocent as she possibly could. “But what about you? Why have you come here?”

As soon as the filly spoke up again, the dragon turned his attention back to her and listened to her words. While they calmed him to a degree, he really didn't want to answer the question for her. But as any good gentlecolt, he had to. “Just wandering, trying to get the matter out of my head. I’m going crazy without her, you know,” he said to her, forging a fake smile across his lips.

“Tis hard not to think about it, but I go with the others. We have to wait for her,” the filly said before she made a couple blinks with her eyes. Sweetie focused her attention on him for as best as she could. “You can’t make peace, can you?”

Spike shook his head from side to side at the spoken words and closed his eyes under an exhale. “No I can’t. It keeps chewing on me no matter what I do. I know she’s out there, but… but I can’t get to her.”

“Tis hard for us all, Spike, truly. But, we can’t give up or go on a search for her.”

“Yeah, that’s what the mayor and Twilight also spoke,” the dragon added in a slightly more annoyed manner. The dragon began to make his departure from her. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. “See you later, Sweetie,” Spike said and then he was just off.

The little unicorn tilted her head to a side at the entire scene and simply watched him go his way. It was only when he was far away from her, that the words rolled out of the mouth of the young filly. “I… suppose we’ll see each other later.” Unsure and uncertain of what had happened, Sweetie blinked a couple more times before she turned herself around. The day was coming to a closure and she didn't wanted to miss dinner at all.

It was a most unusual meeting between the two of them and one that would be forgotten rather quickly through the gears of time. Yet as she made her departure from the place, the young unicorn turned herself around one last time to witness the building in most of its old glory. A deep sigh left through her nose as she remembered most of the good times the two had with one another. And then it was back, back to the house at the lake, back to her beloved parents.

~~~~

With the hours that passed by, Spike had made himself comfortable within the living room of the library. On his chest laid a book where he had been reading out the time before. Yet as time passed, the words grew weary on him. They tired him and he had fallen deeply asleep inside of the chair.

Twilight herself was still working in her study area with the glasses on her nose and the candles burning bright. Outside of the occasional mumble, there was nothing else that left her. Which on their own turn left Spike to sleep undisturbed.

At least so it appeared. For within the mind of the little baby dragon, it was a whirlwind. All of the read words and events of the day came rushing back to him like cannonballs that were being fired. Mumbling in his sleep, he started to turn and twist around while the visions of his mind came and went. Visions that spoke about the darkest things that could have happened to her.

Yet there was one that stood out above all others. The love of his life who smiled upon him like nothing had happened to her. The dragon wanted to run over to her and hug her ever so tight and just cry at her return. But that packed out a whole lot differently than expected.

For when he wanted to move himself further towards her, his legs suddenly froze and there was a lightning flash that blinded him. One that went straight for the ivory white unicorn.

A yell. A scream of agony was heard before the everlasting silence fell.

It was only when the light cleared up again that Spike was able to see what happened. The world around him had become darker in appearance, foggier even. But he didn't care about that, he wanted to see nopony but her. He got his wish granted, in a truly horribly manner.

Because where the ivory coated unicorn used to stand, stood a mare easily the size of Celestia herself. He couldn't make out the rest of this, thing, as the magic had collected itself around the horn, but also something on top of the horn. A gem. It, it almost was like a beacon among the darkness. A beacon of hope for those lost.

He wanted to say something against the being, asking it where Rarity went. Because it was not possible that the being, was his crush. Yet the creature never even looked over the baby dragon. Instead it turned itself around and calmly walked away like nothing happened. With his legs still frozen, Spike could only watch how the light of the magic continued to travel through the darkened world he had entered.

From time to time he meant to see a set of blue, cat like eyes among the darkness but that was all. And then he spoke the single name with all of the might in his body. A might that caused him to breath his signature green fire from the mouth as long as the name kept rolling. The name of nopony else then, “Rarity!”

04 Experiments everywhere

Huffs, puffs, growls and groans all left the mist that was the dark entity. The being that called itself Nightmare Rarity. The magical aura was even more powerful than ever. Before her was the ground splitting open like it was nothing to her. All of the nightmare forces that were present to witness the events happening, were all just shocked to see how much more power was flowing through her.

They knew that the ivory coated unicorn had her touch for gem hunting, but that what the entity was doing was something on an whole other level. Their eyeless spherical faces just looked over their queen as a set of forelegs could be clearly seen. Two fine lined legs had placed themselves firm against the ground. Yet the clouds and fog of the entity swirled passed them, embracing them even. Though where most had expected to see a pure black set of legs, they got something else before their hooves. For the legs of Nightmare Rarity were more a mixture of both black and white, a very deep gray was the color that they had gotten as a result. And if her legs alone had that coloring and wonderful fine looks, what would the rest of her body look like?

It was a question that each of the nightmare forces asked themselves in the silence of the moment. Another calm before the storm, one might say that it happened to be. That statement was hitting the nail right on the head. Because while the clouded entity stood there, the charge only became more intense after the ground had split open. There was only one more thing that needed to be done. One last thing before the hellish job would have been completed for her. The final straws had to be placed there and then.

With an angry growl in her voice had the entity moved its head up towards the skies. Soon it released a mighty, timberwolf like roar into the skies above. Each of the forces that were looking at her from a major distance, held even their breath in. The tremors returned into the ground again. The earth started to shake once again as out of the hole itself, was something that started to rise.

More and more darkness rose out of the ground. She seemed to be pleased more and more. And more completion there was as a result. For the wall that rose out of the ground was one that was made out of a material called: dark crystal. A gem with the same characteristics as normal crystals, except it was as hard as diamonds and black of natural color. Nopony knew just what created them, but they knew all too well they were a favorite of the dark unicorn king named Sombra. The comparison could be drawn between the two’s love for precious stones. Though other than that, there was little they seemed to have in common.

When the wall was finally high enough and shaped into place had the magical aura disappeared from the clouded entity as the panting continued. The legs of the entity never did set a step in another direction. For they were still placed firm against the ground itself. She wasn't going anywhere and her pants just confirmed the thoughts. It was near impossible to think that she possessed such magical abilities, in order to have created what she had. Each and every single nightmare force was literally dumbstruck by the sheer ability she had.

Though they all knew just what caused her to be so powerful, or so they thought. Because many theories did their turn around them, but none were the right one. She hadn't gained a boost in her abilities after the transformation, nor did she learn a spell to make herself stronger when it comes to the matter. The truth of her power laid in an object that she took from the library. An object that was the size of her very own iris.

~~~~

With the magical charges gone and the legs retreating back into the cloud of fog, the entity that was Nightmare Rarity looked over to her creation. The very place she would be calling home from there on out. A wondrous sight to behold within the eerie forest of White Tails. Her eyes looked over the clear courtyard and she started to grin like a madmare.

For what she had done –truly had done– was the creation of a domain that was build entirely out of the dark crystals. A fortress one might even say. A place that was easily defensible for her liking and it shared some of her elegance when it came to flair. The eyes traveled all over the place to witness the beauty. Slow glances were taken, she wanted to see every last detail there was.

From the barracks for the forces, to the special forges to create the weapons and armor for her own army. Then she looked over the high walls and their spiky crenels had to be intimidating for any soul who as much thought of coming closer. Even as remarkable as those features on themselves were, it was on the back wall that the three most important doors had been placed.

Three doors that led to three possible dooms. With the grin only becoming bigger, the entity looked up towards the only tower that the place had. A tower that had a view high over the ground that the forest covered. A tower that shone in the sun and casting its black light back to the woods. It caused a nightfall effect on the fog. On top of that very tower, there would be place for her. Her very own bedroom would be located on top of the tower. “Just need a dragon and the fairy tale is complete,” the entity chuckled to herself before her eyes went down once again.

They fell on the courtyard and there was something that felt missing. Something that should have been there all of the time but hadn't shown its head towards her. Though she couldn't place it what exactly it happened to be.

She knew that her nightmare forces alone could have a heck of a punch, that wasn't the doubt in the case as it was the detection that worried her. Through the thick fog it would be near impossible to witness just who or what was going through them. Yet perhaps even more important was her own personal guard. If it came to the point where she laid under fires and needed more protection, her personal guards could take care of it.

The entity begun to hover around everything in silence. Gently she allowed her mind to be filled with thoughts of how she would establish her personal guardians. Would she just pick some of them and name them? Or would she do something much more, mind controlling? Questions that had to be answered over time itself. For the matters were of importance indeed, yet she wanted to try something else out.

Nightmare Rarity wanted to test out her newly gained spells in order. She wanted to see just how powerful they truly happened to be. To see how far she could drive a pony to the edge of insanity and beyond. The full strength of her powers would be something that she would show against four unwilling volunteers. Her mind had made the plan up already, all she needed were some of the unlucky bastards.

While she kept hovering, her visible eyes scanned each and every cloud she passed. None them were looking all too strong or bright but by four of them, she just spoke one single word. “You.” And that was it. When the word was spoken, she went on her way again.

Both Fright and Blood had no idea just what she was even planning to do with those clouds. All they knew was that they could become commanders as well. “This is not looking good, Fright,” Shadowblood dared to speak up after the queen had passed them without a word.

“I know this isn't the most ideal situation to be in, but we simply have to wait in her orders to see just what she is actually planning. Perhaps they’ll just be killed off or something. You know Moon loved to do that, right?” Fright replied in a faint whisper to his partner in crime.

The other orb nodded with a deep sigh. “A bit too much for my liking, tell you that.”

Than the queen herself hovered back into the middle of the courtyard. There she started to speak her own words on the matter. “Those four who I have pointed out, I want to have before me as the stallions they can be. For you four, will be send on a special mission,” she said to them all.

All of the forces were taken by the greatest of surprises. Yet the four clouds carefully morphed into stallions the size of Fancy Pants, with half the muscles of Big Macintosh. Four excellent subjects she had chosen for the test that laid ahead of them. Slowly and carefully did they all four moved before their queen and lined up.

Their empty eyes all looked at her with a gaze of wonder, what could she have been planned out for each of them. Scouting mission? Intelligence reconnaissance? They didn't know for certain and perhaps wouldn't have guessed it either. For the plan that she had for them was something that was cruel to say the least. Something so evil, that ever shadow under her command would have been waken up and witness the true power she possessed.

“You four should consider yourself lucky, because you’re the first beings to taste my newly gained powers. That’s right, you’re going to be my experimental subjects for this. Don’t worry though, it won’t hurt as much as you think,” the entity spoke. A mere second later had she erupted in a terrifying and dark chuckle. The magical aura returned in the clouded being and continued to charge itself up to heights that were once again unseen. Sparks of lightning even left the light before they curled back into it. Violent lightning strikes that would only be the messengers for that what has to come.

“This is not good, Fright,” Shadowblood whispered to the other. “This is all but good.”

Fright shook his orb before he returned the words in a whisper. “That it isn't indeed. If she gets the result she wants, things are going to be looking a whole lot bleaker for us if we want to take over. Perhaps even ruining the possibility of doing it at all. We need to play this smart, but we can’t interfere…”

“So the plan is?”

“Simple, there isn't any.”

“How in the name of shadows can you say that?” Blood replied angry all of the sudden. “Years of our existence we have worked on this plan, to get her where she is. And overthrow her to become the kings ourselves!”

Though Fright was tired of the words that were spoken and instead of giving him a reply in words, the orb just head-butted him to silence. “Don’t you think I know that? Remember, backstabber, it was through me that you could become a co-ruler of the nightmare forces. If I hadn't dragged you out of your pit, it could have been you who stood there!” the orb spoke in a whispering snarl.

Clearly he wasn't happy with the sheer manner in which Blood spoke to him and he needed to know his place. Long was assumed they stood equal to one another, but it was in fact Fright who was the mastermind behind the whole operation.

Blood was still recovering from the head-butt and groaned a bit towards him before a hiss was released. “I’ll remember that for the next time…” His tone was just filled with the purest of venom, hatred and diabolical insanity. With another growl he just turned back to the show that was being presented before them.

Fright on the other end just witnessed the play with a different set of eyes. He knew what she was going to attempt, or so he thought at least. Because there wasn't a thing in the world at that moment that could prepare either of the scheming stallions to just what she was planning out. What kind of powers were racing through her veins and perhaps above all, there was nothing that could predict the fate of his brethren.

What could the orb of shadow do outside of just witnessing the events as they played out before him? Of course he could interfere all he wanted, all of them could if they desired, but that meant they had to face the fury of the queen. And that was never a mild punishment whatsoever. Ruthless and merciless they were. Punishments designed to make sure they would remember their place the next time they wanted to interfere.

True that those were out of the time that Moon still reigned over them, but with Rarity in charge, not much of that would have been changed. Fright simply looked over the stallions as they stood there completely still. They were simply waiting for that what could come their way. He knew for certain, that their little plan was something that could be flushed down the toilet. For the sights as they looked like, were just somber. “It’s over,” he whispered quietly to himself.

~~~~

Then the moment of truth was there. With the magical charge in the maximum of available powers, the hum almost sounded like a roar of thunder that ravaged through the skies. Lightning lashes made their departure from the aura before they returned back into it. The sheer power that she was irradiating was something all of the nightmare forces could be careful of. Those who tried to oppose her, could receive such a blast right in the face.

“The power of the mind, is wonderful thing. Yet its destruction, can help me out in more than one way,” the entity mumbled to herself before it happened. All of the stored energy was released under a roar of pure, dominant power. Four lashes of lightning traveled in a second over to the four unfortunate stallions. Of course they wanted to run away from the light but if they did, they would truly anger their queen and she would accuse them for deeds against her crown. So instead, they tried their best to remain in that one spot.

Then the lash of lightning hit them. Each of the bolts had made contact with the forehead of each stallion. They were immobilized almost immediately. All of their muscles went into lock and the only thing that moved were the pieces of cloud and fog from their mane and tail. For the rest, nothing at all. The lashes of blue lightning created an interesting play of light on the ground as they cast the shadows of the shadows on the wall, revealing something rather unique.

For what played out on the walls were each of the nightmare forces in shapes and forms unknown to any living creature. Horrified disfigured bodies that could only exist in the dreams of a foal. The eyes of the queen looked at the four subject with a stare of insanity, these figures could be seen in the corner of her eyes. Intimidated, frightful, merciless, those were the best words to describe their looks. That was what gave her an idea. A horrible one that was, but one nonetheless.

Howls of agony left the stallions while more of the magical lightning entered into their brains. They never got the required amount of it though. Instead had she given them an overdose beyond the believes of any mortal and immortal creature. The lightning they took to the head and to be more precise, the brain itself, changes were happening at a rate it never should have.

Yet the entity that was Nightmare Rarity didn't care about their howls one bit. She wanted to know just how powerful she could be. If they had died during the process, she wouldn't care less. Yet there was little that could actually have prepared herself on the matter she had actually created. For the circumstances the shadow stallions were in, could be the base for new life.

“This is, this is insanity at its finest,” Shadowfright whispered while he looked over the games before him. “The powers she’s putting out, on four at once for the first time.” Countless ideas and thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to know more about it, so he could use it against her. With care he started to hover a bit more forward in order to get a much better look at the games.

Blood on the other end remained in the position as he was still trying to get his head back around the matter. The head-butt hadn't done him good at all. His own brain still laid in shambles. So silence was his best partner in order not to spill out any important information about their deeds.

While it was true that other forces knew the two were up to something, it was never quite certain just what they were working on. None of the forces even truly cared just what they were planning. They had a collective mind to a degree, but were still individual enough to think for themselves and act on their own.

“Fascinating,” whispered Fright to himself when he had managed to hover at the first row. In his eyes he looked over to the pain each of them was in. Yet they were still standing on their hooves. A remarkable sight that would be written inside of their memories for as long as they lived. That was one of the very few things that was just a certainty. The sounds, the sights, both of them would be printed on their retina.

While the lashes continued to do their work did each of the stallions disappear into an orb of blue magic. They would be locked away from the world outside. It was uncertain just what was going to happen to them. It wasn't something the entity had truly the desire off of doing but for her feeling it felt like she had to do it. The power she was putting out against them was too high and she could feel that in her ghost-like body. Though that never stopped her from not continuing her deeds. Even she was uncertain just what might happen when all of the charge is finally gone up in smoke.

Just how well would the experiment have gone once they were finished? How well would their behavior be? And possibly above all, how insane would they have become after lashes of lightning cast right into their brains? There was still much to learn for the young queen. A queen whose very body hadn't even been seen by any of her subjects she ruled over. Mysteries piled themselves up around her but so did they do in the quite town of Ponyville.

~~~~

For it was within the famous Golden Oak library that Twilight herself was working her flanks off once again. With all of her scientific equipment ready, she was willing to a rather daring experiment. She wanted to tear through the time and space continuum in order to look into other universes. A daring undertaking that had Spike worried for months. But every single time had Twilight said that she had the situation under control as it were. A fact that he first had to see in order to believe it.

It was because she could persuade him rather easily with her motherly charms. A fact that he loved and hated just about equally about her. Nonetheless, when the experiment was going to a start, the baby dragon was peacefully asleep in his basket within the bedroom. His innocent little mind was unaware of the situation in the basement, which was a massive relief for Twilight herself.

The librarian unicorn allowed her horn to charge itself up with her magical powers and aimed it towards a generator. “This has to work, too much of my time has been wasted on this. Come on, come on,” she mumbled to herself while the sounds continued to face. The humming of her magic and the device as the blast was released were deafening.

Shocks were being sent through the whole building. They caused the basket of the dragon to gently move up and down. But he didn't wake up for whatever reason. His snoring continued like nothing had happened and he just turned himself back around.

But downstairs there was something happening. With the beam still hitting the generator, the Tesla-coil-like devices started to launch lightning at one another. Sweat broke out on Twilight’s face while she continue to push out the power. She would succeed upon her little quest, no matter what. Moans and groans left her body and soul until the beam from her horn just stopped.

Without a warning or anything had she ran out of her magical reserves. The smoke that came from the horn was as black as tar. The unicorn didn't even dare to touch it. Her horn felt hot whenever her hoof came close to it. “That was… different,” she mumbled before blew some air up to her horn, in the hope to calm it down.

The coils themselves were still transmitting the lightning to one another in a loud, almost singing manner. Once the ears of the unicorn caught the play of sounds had she turned her head around to witness the sheer size of the apparatus. A device that was bolted on a steel plate which housed both of the coils, the countless wires that were hooked up to her scientifically readers and the generators. An enormous device had been made just to have a peek into a universe different than hers. Not even princess Celestia knew that she was executing the experiment. So it resulted in Twilight sailing a blind ship into a storm.

The lightning covered both of the coils from top to bottom as the mare was taken by the play of lights and dared to take a step or two closer towards the device. “It’s, wonderful,” she whispered to herself. Even though it wasn't even close to her goal, she did manage to create something of beauty. Something that even she could consider, a true beauty.

But then there were the voices that began to echo through the room. Voices that spoke in haunting tones and tunes against her. Languages that were unknown to any soul in the world. What did they wanted from her? Where did they spoke from? Fear had begun to rise inside of her body and mind. The unicorn tried to find the original place of the sounds as best as she could. Though the place happened to be, the space that was right between the lightning flashes.

“No way,” Twilight softly mumbled against herself. She couldn't believe it, but the facts where there. The flashes of lightning were conducting with another universe. Yet they didn't create any hole into it. Nonetheless, it was a breakthrough.

Sadly enough, it wasn't one that could have been lived for long. The voices became more and more eerie and haunting, the whispers came so close that it sounded as if somepony actually was talking right next to her. That little thing was becoming a bit too much of the good stuff in her eyes.

Twilight had to close the experiment in order to make the voices go away. It was a rough decision but it had to be done and she knew it. Still uncertain what the voices spoke, she pulled the plug out of the generator and the flashes of lightning almost stopped right away. Something that relieved her a lot more than she originally had thought.

With the shivers still going down her spine, had the unicorn dropped her body into a chair and closed her eyes. Her head was hung backwards in order to clear her brain from anything unnecessary as she rethought the events that happened. The voices and tones still echoed through her mind as if they would be haunting her. But the words they spoke weren't in any language she was aware of that existed.

No, it was more of a mixture between multiple languages combined mixed with something else. A factor that was unknown to even a mare like herself. “Goodness me, what, what could they have tried to tell me to begin with? But how…did I hear them right next to me? I was supposed to just make a window to look…” Then her eyes sprung open as she looked terrified towards the ceiling of the library. “But what if I accidentally opened that window?” she said to herself as everything started to make sense.

~~~~

The unicorn jumped out of her chair and galloped over to the desk with all of her calculations. “There has to be a mistake that speaks about the monocular levels. There must be something that became penetrable instead of having to be rock solid. Urgh, there has to be!” Twilight muttered to and about herself. The unicorn went over all the calculations she had made three times. Seconds turned into minutes and she still didn't had her desired answer. She couldn’t discover what had gone wrong.

Each of her made predicament and calculation was correct to the eighth decimal. But then it hit her, then she discovered the very mistake that she had made. “You stupid mare that you are!” the unicorn almost yelled against herself. Twilight planted her face against the hard wood of the desk. “How could you have missed that fact!? Never go to the eighth decimal, but go to the tenth. It’s the most impossible thing we’re talking about here and you still… Ugh. Back to the drawing board…”

And so said, so done. Twilight fell back into her chair. She began to make the new calculations for the next test. A test in which she would make sure the window remained closed no matter what. Though she could never get the voices and whispers out of her mind. It felt like if they were warning her to not continue on the madness. To stop it while she still had the time to do that.

Whether she would actually do it, had to be a question answered through the gears of time itself. A question which perhaps was best unanswered for her very own wellbeing.

With the moon still standing high in the skies above the town, had the unicorn given up on the matter for the night. Instead of keeping herself tortured on the matter, she went to bed. Twilight needed her sleep at the moment more than anything and felt herself in heaven once she dropped herself on the mattress. Exhausted beyond belief, the mare would have fallen asleep almost right away without having placed the blankets over her body. There was a moan that left her body before it turned into a snore. A snore loud enough to make the baby dragon turn and wiggle himself around in the basket due to the annoyance levels that were being created.

~~~~

When the sun had risen up once again over the magical lands, the apple farm just outside of the quiet and sleepy little town was in the need to hurry up. The farming season had fallen upon it and in each of the near thousand trees the Apple family had, were at least a few dozen ripe apples ready to be plucked and transported. But the days were short and light wasn't easy to come by unless there was a unicorn with them or something. But with the family being earth ponies, they called in the help of a pony who might held the answer for them.

Applejack herself stood on a hill to a large blade of grass in her mouth. Her green eyes kept looking to the morning skies in the hope to find that one thing she needed. Her, literally, big brother was already working on hauling the carts filled with apples from the previous day to the barn for storage. “Where’s she?” the cowgirl mumbled to herself before she spat the blade of grass out of her mouth and wanted to give up.

But then there was a rainbow that appeared above her and soon followed a trail of wind that rushed passed her. The blonde maned mare had to keep her hat tightly against her head, otherwise it would have been send flying through the air. “That in tarnation!? Rainbow!” she yelled to the mysterious events. Although they weren't as mysterious as she thought they would be, as there was only one pegasus who was able to make them. And that was nopony else but Rainbow Dash.

The agile pegasus mare chuckled in her signature cocky tone before landing just in front of Applejack. “Sorry I’m late, woke up a bit too late, but, what’s the plan?”

“The plan is,” the cowgirl started after having fixed her hat, “that we harvest as much apples as we possibly can. Apple Bloom has drilled up Scootaloo as well to join, but Sweetie can’t come for some reasons Ah haven’t heard.”

The cyan coated, rainbow maned pegasus nodded to the words as she understood them. “Sounds easy enough, but Sweet’s still in on that matter with Rarity. Heard from Twilight that she can’t have peace with it, much like Spike now that I think about it,” she answered just before they started to walk through the morning sun lit trees.

“Fell hard on us all, Rainbow, ya know that better than any. But she’ll come back. Rares isn't that stubborn or weak. That trick on the diamond dogs, was a golden one. She can blabber herself out of it if she needs,” replied Applejack before a silence fell between the two. They didn't wanted to admit to one another, but they hadn't been able to have placed the disappearance of the unicorn either. Making Sweetie Belle not the only one.

But due to their posture of being two of the toughest mares around, they couldn't tell anypony. “Hey Applejack, how about a good sports competition? Who can farm the most apples until the sun goes down?”

Those words, were caught up by the two fillies that were walking towards them. One being the little sister of Applejack and the other the energetic little pegasus. “They aren't really going to… are they?” Apple Bloom asked aloud. But not loud enough to let the mares hear it.

“I don’t hope so,” the pegasus filly replied. She could only predict where it would come to.

Applejack on the other end just gave the daredevil of a pegasus a shady look that was followed up by a grin. “Ya really want to challenge me on mah own land? Ya want to battle this on mah own turf? You got guts,” she spoke up towards her, thinking it was just a little game of hers.

“Oh no AJ, I’m serious here. You and me, most apples when the sun sets. You in, or out?”

On that very moment did the fillies knew that they had to retreat. Because when those two were at it, everything was pulled out of the closet to win.

“Tis a deal, Rainbow, but the apples can’t be broken and need to look perfect. Yah think ya can handle that with that speed of yars?” the cowgirl teased with another grin before she fixed her hat. The deal had been made, the stage been set. All that needed, was for the pegasus to accept.

“You betcha!” the pegasus returned before she spat in her hoof. The cowgirl did the same and they bumped the together. “It’s on. It’s on like...”

So it happened that the two of them were off to deal with the bet set up by the other. Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all searched up a nice little place to watch the events for the coming hours. Neither of the three dared to place bets on any of them, but they had to admit that it was something fun to watch. Two physical strong mares that were going at one another. “Ah hate to admit, but Rainbow made a mistake. She knows the Acres as well as the back of her ponytail.”

“Which one?” Scootaloo asked as she turned around to look at the stallion.

The gentle giant released a single chuckle through his mouth before he spoke his reply for her. “Both.”

That was something that was hard to believe for her. So her eyes looked back to her friend who only nodded to confirm his words. “Rainbow’s going to be in big trouble.”

“Told ya,” Apple Bloom chuckled before she leaned further against the fence. She wanted to enjoy the orange and cyan show. “Only advantage Rainbow has though, is her speed.”

“Ah’m not placing mah bits on either. For in the end, they’ll just collapse like two or three seasons before,” Big Mac replied. He placed both of his forelegs on the fence and leaned on it from behind. He too would have watched, but with a different set of eyes then the fillies.

~~~~

Back in the domain of the entity had the lightning had stopped and the smoke was still coming from the clouds of shadow. What truly had happened inside of the spheres was unknown to any being that was present. All they knew for certain was the fact that it was something terribly bad. Something that never should have seen the light of day or the darkness of night.

Each of the spheres had begun to crack down from the top like an egg. The fault lines continued to travel down and all of the forces did steps back or disappeared inside of the shadows as a whole. Even Blood was more willing to return back into the shadows than to remain present. Though it was nearly impossible because of Fright, who never left his position. Even though they had their argument before, he wouldn't let him be destroyed or anything like it. They would have stuck together, no matter how desperate their situation would have become.

The cracks became bigger while the sheer fright for the results rose in all of the forces. But the entity hovered a couple of steps back. She just glanced over the spheres once again. Then it happened. It was in that moment that the revelation would have been made. Each of them broke and exploded. First into sparkles but those quickly turned into the black tar like substance that was liquid shadow and there they stood. Standing still and solid, as if they were The four stallions who received the blow, lived in a torn apart world. A world where the thin line between mind and reality didn't exist anymore and their worst fears were their preys. The entity that was Nightmare Rarity looked each of the stallions in the eyes. She could see the changes they had been through. For the first one being the obvious one, the fact they actually had eyes.

But that was only the first problem of many.

For these stallions about half a time bigger than both Fright and Blood were when they encountered the insecure, little unicorn. Their mane waved as if they were standing inside of a storm but there wasn't any wind that blew at the time. Their tails had the same principle. Unbelievable as they already happened to be, one of them started to bare its teeth towards the queen. A mouth that was filled with sharp, jagged teeth and fangs ready to tear flesh of the very bones.

All over their bodies could the pack of muscles be found. They were just one hunk of muscle, teeth and eyes. These weren't the shadow stallions as Rarity remembered, they were something different. Something that was perhaps a lot better than she could have ever imagined them to be. The changes made to them were probably a one in a million shot for certain. Yet there was something she wanted to try. Something that came almost natural towards her when she saw them.

“Sit,” she spoke in a demanding tone. And then the tension rose whether or not they would follow her command. Not only for Nightmare Rarity but also for both Fright and Blood. If those beings would obey her, it would be over. If they didn't, there would be a chance for their plan.

~~~~

Seconds passed as the tension was to cut and she repeated the order, but louder and even more demanding. “Sit!” she snarled to them. But once again there was no true reaction from them. Her eyes started to look even sterner at each of them as her breathing calmed itself down.

“Come on, come on,” whispered Fright to himself. The orb of shadows wanted to see her fail to gain dominance over them. If she would have gotten dominance over those four, things could turn out nasty, very quick. Blood on the other end had hovered next to the other remaining orb of shadow and didn't speak at all. He was more skeptical on the matter that was played out before him.

Though against their will, against their own intuition, all four of them started to lower themselves on their behinds. Each of the changed stallions eventually sat down as the mare had ordered them to. And words couldn't express how happy she was with that. “This, this pleases your queen more than you four can think,” Nightmare Rarity spoke to each of them. She had just discovered, her personal guards by creating them through the unknown.

She didn't saw them anymore like true shadow stallions. Instead she viewed them as dogs that could do her bidding. They had become her lapdogs and she loved it. But deep inside the psychic of each of the stallions had they lived on the ultimate edge of her powers. The sheer power of the beam they were hit with, caused them to morph into the appropriate circumstances. And as it was her who controlled that terrible pain, they would simply listen to her in order to never feel it again.

In her words it was nothing else but, “perfection.” In the eyes of both Shadowfright and Blood, ultimate disaster. “The guards of the queen, the savage shadow stallions,” the entity that was Nightmare Rarity whispered to them. She then erupted in a dark laughter of satisfaction.

05 Stubbornness pays the highest price

Time had passed by a week since the entity of Nightmare Rarity managed to make her home in the woods of White Tails. In that very same week, there had been a lot of changes when it came down to the forest itself. Almost all of its natural wildlife had left the area. Yet in return, it was flooded with the fog for unknown reasons. More fog had appeared within the woods, how was everypony’s guess.

It was interesting to say the least and those poor souls who tried to walk through the thick fog would only be punished for their deeds. Some managed to find their way back with a broken mind. They would be speaking about horrors that lived within the fog. But there were also some who never returned. It was about those cases that the rumors started to do their turn. Rumors about them being eaten or devoured by the creatures that the survivors happened to have seen. But all of them, couldn't be further away from the real truth behind the terror that had taken over the woods.

With White Tails being an important route to travel from north to south, it was always considered a lot more safer than traveling through the forest of Everfree. But with the rumors coming to the inns that stood by all of the major roads and entrances leading into the forest, that safety soon turned into a risk. A risk worth taken by some, whereas others preferred to travel either through the much more feared Everfree or walking around the woods.

That mostly happened before of one simple explanation: the fog covered all of the roads that were known to travel over. Some were literally trapped in either one of the lands regions and didn't dare to travel further. Not to mention that the authorities didn't do anything because of a simple thought. To them it looked like a normal fog and that the ponies who had gone mildly insane that had been seeing their own imagination as each story was different.

They left as quickly as they came, always with the excuse of ‘having other business to attend to’. If they only had experienced it for themselves just what laid inside that horrible fog of which White Tails were known for. While the authorities didn't even mention the horrors, bars and taverns knew all about it. It was a gossip circulation that kept going and going no matter what. There was a core of truth, a horrible truth.

~~~~

For days on end had the green coated, blue maned, earth pony stallion who lived under the name of Astral Chrome been walking towards his destination. A town that laid a bit further south of Ponyville had he set out to in order to visit some of his relatives. The stallion was a bit of a dreamer, always with his head in the skies and wondering what laid beyond. He had taken his own refuge at the inn of that was stationed at the north side of White Tails which was right next to its main entrance road.

Almost like every other morning, the stallion woke up under a loud yawn that left from his mouth and his forelegs stretched themselves in order to let the muscles do their work again. His violet rimmed eyes were revealed to the world after the eyelids had removed themselves. He was slow in the morning for certain, taking his own pace and time to get everything done what was needed.

“Another day, another hike to do,” he spoke up to himself before he left the bed. Astral hollowed his back a bit as he walked over to the bathroom and every single bone in his spine was just sore. It was a sharp pain he had gotten from the rather uncomfortable bed he had spent the night in. “Ohhh, let’s just hope I reach Ponyville today,” Astral mumbled to himself before he disappeared in the bathroom.

The outside world itself was slowly waking up as well. The sun was starting to rise once more, whereas all of the critters of Everfree woke up in their own manner and pace. The skies turned from black and dark blue into a mixture of pink and red. To some those colors meant a warning, to others it simply was just a pretty sight to behold.

Inside of the inn were all of the ponies that were there as guests beginning on their breakfast before planning their activities for the day. The inn-keeper herself was a pegasus mare who had been through her time. She was glancing with care over the guests while she stood behind the bar. With her back against the wall and herself standing in a bipedal pose with a leg set against the wall and her forelegs crossed. Her cerise red eyes looked over to every soul that was present. But she never spoke a single word to them.

Though she did listen to all of the conversations that were going on. With a careful ear she listened, not giving herself too much attention. The barkeeper himself received all of that actually. As he was the first employee the guests would encounter.

Times were good for the inn, but the rumors did caught up with her and they worried many of her guests. Though they could understand the reasoning of the guests, as they had experience with the rumors first hoof. The mare closed her eyes and gently hung her head on the chest as she thought back. Back to that horrible day where the rumors became a reality. An event that happened not even four days ago.

~~~~

The night had fallen upon the land and it was already passed midnight as most of the guests were already up and to their beds as some others remained downstairs in order to continue or finish their last drink. It was a profitable night as a thunderstorm passed over them. The flashes of lightning illuminated the night skies every so often before the thunder rolled through the same skies.

The pegasus mare had taken over the bar for the remaining hour it would be open. She was finishing up the last things that she had to do. But there was nothing in the world that could possibly have prepared her for that. For what came out of the woods. While the rain kept ticking against the windows of the inn and the thunder rolled, the gray coated mare had just gone in a conversation with one of her most respected guests.

“So, I take it you are still on trek around the woods?” she asked the stallion with a teasing grin. Her eyes would have been placed on him, trying to figure out if there was something he knew.

“Aye, still trying to figure out about these rumors, they are young but that’s when they are the best to be believed. Events fresh meaning rumors haven’t deluded yet. But so far still nothing I’m afraid,” the stallion replied before he took a swig of his drink.

“Tis a shame indeed. Heard about them ponies going crazy, yesterday the southern inn at this very road got a visit from a survivor,” she replied to him in an almost casual one.

“What!? And you didn't told me?”

“Well, you were out all day and I only received the news per letter after you went to bed. Besides, how did you wanted to travel, through Everfree? Around or through that hideous fog itself?”

That caused the stallion to fall silent and took another swig. “Suppose you’re right on it,” he mumbled after the mug was set down again. “Either way, what do you think of all it?”

“What is there to say? It seems like we’re going to become the next ghost town. Or ghost forest in this case…”

Before either of the two could make a reply to the words spoken, the door of the inn was opened and in its opening – accompanied by a flash of lightning– stood a terrified stallion. “Help me!” he shouted before he collapsed upon himself. The mare and stallion at the bar rushed over to him as fast as they could and started up the procedure to help him.

Though all of their attempts were useless. As the problems weren't in any physical condition, even though the stallion screamed murder and fire at the fact his leg was injured. “What on earth are we getting now? The rumors..?” the innkeeper spoke up towards the guest.

“What else could it be?” he answered her in all of his honesty. There was nothing else that could have explained it better than the rumors of the horrors from the woods.

The two of them wanted to continue with their investigation but the beating of the tormented stallion’s heart just stopped. The pegasus felt that and she went directly to his chest in order to feel if it was true. “No, no, no,” she spoke up as the other stallion looked over to her with a worried look on his face.

“It’s over, isn't it?”

All she could do, was to give a nod to it. There was literally nothing that the two of them could possibly even do for the stallion. “Death by fright… Only one being is able to do that. Let’s, let’s call in the higher authority and see what they make up from it,” he said to her as he wanted to walk back to the bar.

But it was a forehoof of the inn-keeper that met up with his body and he was turned back around in order to face her. “No.”

~~~~

The eyes of the mare opened themselves up once more. She rose her head a bit and looked to the guests again. There was a new one who had taken its place upon the bar and was eating a slice of bread. Yet the eyes were looking at a map that laid before him. “Planning a trip, sir?” the pegasus mare asked. She then dropped her body back to the ground and walked up to him in a calm pacing.

Astral looked up a bit confused at the words and let his azure blue eyes to fall upon the mare before the slice of bread was laid back on the plate. “Actually, yes. I am planning for a trip. One that is taking me to a little town south of Ponyville.”

“Ponyville, you say? Means you have to cross the woods of White Tails,” she replied to him in a calm voice. The mare crossed her forelegs over the bar and glanced a bit deeper into his eyes. “Have you considered taking an alternative route because of those nasty rumors that do their turn.”

“I am quite familiar with the rumors, miss. But it is what it says, rumors. All those ponies who have gone crazy are nothing more but a mere coincidence because of the fact that the power of words, is a powerful one.” the stallion simply stated as he looked over her. “My route shall remain scheduled as it is. Meaning that I follow the main path through the fog and reach the south end by the young evening if I keep my pacing.”

“That is with the fog calculated in I may hope, because the last thing I recommend is sleeping inside of that hellhole,” the mare replied calmly to him. She was genuinely worried about him and she had all of the reasons to be as she had seen the impossible. The experience she had gone through was rather left unspoken for the obvious reasons.

“Milady, I have taken that into account yes. This fog, will dissolve itself over time. It is nothing more but low hanging clouds that came from the weather factories up in Cloudsdale,” the stallion replied to her in a calm tone. But then there was a yawn that escaped his mouth and he shook his head a couple of times. “Excuse me for that.”

Both the barkeeper and the inn-keeper released a quiet chuckle to the words before the glasses were cleaned again. “I’m warning you one last time, lad, turn back around and walk around the forest. All that awaits you inside of it is nothing but your worst fears. The routes through Everfree and the edging mountain are safer than going through the manticore’s den,” the inn-keeper spoke.

Astral on the other end, he simply didn't believe in her words. He found them superstitious to say the least. She might have been the owner of the place but that never meant that he could just pick whatever she throw at him in words. “No miss, you listen to me. I have had enough of all of these rumors, sayings and legends. There is nothing in that fog that can cause such things. I suppose I can place the blame on you for dropping the clouds on it.”

That angered the pegasus mare perhaps more than he would have liked. For she was born and raised in the city of pride, worked there until she bought the inn for herself and if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it were defilers of her respect. The barkeeper did a little step back and stopped where he was working on. “You sir, have made a great mistake,” he said towards Astral.

“What do you mean?” the earth pony replied before he finally looked over to the mare. The sheer anger that was flowing through her body and he released a gulp. “Hehehe,” was all that he could bring out before a massive gulp left his body.

And almost right after that, was his pelt taken by the mare. She almost dragged him right over the bar. Their foreheads met up with one another as the clouds of steam was puffed out of the mare her nostrils. “You can do a lot with a pegasus and nothing happens to you. But dent their pride or insult their city, bones will be broken no matter what. You want to travel through that dreaded forest, fine by me. You can die and rot there for all I care! But know this when your final breath is taken, the pegasus race nor I had to do anything with it. Am I clear?” she growled up to him.

Astral could only nod to her words in fright. It was almost right away apparent that she was stronger than he was and picking a fight was the last thing he needed. “As crystal,” he said to her in a frightened tone.

The mare released him from his hold and pointed to the door of the inn. “Out, now. Get your stuff and just disappear out of my eyes. I don’t want to see you for a long time to come.” As fast as lightning would Astral have done what he was told. Astral was scared for the pegasus and almost all of the inn knew that right away when they saw him crawling away.

It took the stallion a mere minute before he had completely left the place and had closed the door behind him. “You meant your words, didn't you?” the barkeeper spoke up to her, finally saying something in general. He had been quiet during the whole conversation, for reasons unknown.

The mare herself simply gave a nod. She returned back to her place against the back wall. “Oh yes, I meant them. Dent a pegasus her pride, and nasty stuff is going to happen.”

“Don’t you think it might have been a bit too harsh, especially after what you have seen back there?” he spoke to her. Some of the guests had turned themselves in order to witness what had happened of course. Though they slowly returned back to their own duties as the show was over for them. The things had already happened and nopony seemed interested in the aftermath.

“Oh trust me, I might have been hard, but that’s the best teacher,” the mare replied. She allowed her cerise eyes to fall upon him upon him.

“But, you could have send him to his death!”

“And here’s the memo for the day, I don’t care. Now if you will excuse me, I’ll be off to my office.” The mare wasn't happy at all and just walked away from the bar as a whole. She left for her office but the barkeeper himself knew that he had to let the matter sink in.

A deep sigh of disappointment was released through hose mouth as he set the glass back on the wooden bar. The shaking motion of his head all spoke the words for him and he was literally on the point of giving up the hope for her. If it wasn't for the fact that those kind of events happened nearly every single week. But the time with Astral was a lot different and he knew that. “May the royals watch over your back,” the stallion mumbled before he continued on with his job.

Meanwhile in the office, the inn-keeper just sat in her chair. Her eyes went over her belongings. The room itself was a rather simple eyeing one. On the walls hung the pictures and newspaper bits about her triumphs as a flyer. Of course was that before she fell from her grace. Her breathing was calm as she looked at the globe that was set below a glass table top and her eyes fell upon the woods of White Tails.

The mare her head suddenly dropped itself down towards the top of her desk. There was a groan was left through her mouth before the words followed with a grumble. “Another one bites the dust,” was all that she said.

~~~~

Astral himself had begun to walk towards the woods after he was kicked out of the inn. He placed his eyes upon the map while walking. “Should be a rather easy going if you ask me. Stay on the path, don’t get lost,” the stallion mumbled to himself. He continued to follow the path down to the woods.

It wasn't all much later after he left the inn that he encountered the first trees of the woods. The map was lowered from before his eyes and folded back up before it was being placed inside of his saddlebags. “So this, is White Tails now, hm?” It didn't look that threatening to him as the fog still behaved like the name suggested. But that little underestimation would eventually cost him his head.

The nature of the forest was still ever so peaceful as he remembered himself but there was only notable and major difference to be spotted already. And that was the lack of sounds that originated from the place. No birds, no critters, no nothing. Everything was just silent as the grave.

It was a minor thing and one that wasn't noticed almost right away by the stallion’s ears. He was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the forest though. Being a student for almost the entire year never gave him that much opportunity to go out and visit the places he wanted to. But he was on a vacation by then and would pass through the dangerous fog. Little did he knew, that it would be a one way trip.

The green coated stallion gave himself a nod and then proceeded to follow the path through the woods. How thick could that fog possibly be? he chuckled to himself in thought. That was the last time anypony would have seen anything from him. His blue haired tail that slowly disappeared into the unnatural woods of White Tails. Against all of the rumors and words had the stallion named Astral Chrome, still dared to enter the tormenting woods. A terrible price would have to be paid for his departure and the price itself would be his life or sanity.

Seconds turned into minutes while the stallion’s hopes became less for a clearing. The sheer density of the fog was something that he had never experienced before in his life. He was curious to what could have caused it. Yet the words of the pegasus continued to ramble themselves through his mind with every step he took.

Even though they were a threat spoken to him, he had to give her admittance at one point. The fog wasn't created by the pegasus race. A fact that became an eerie reality the more Astral stared at it. The almost magical current that could be seen inside of the fog every so often, gave it all away. The current of magic within it revealed perhaps a bit too much about the fog.

It was something that he hadn't seen before and possibly didn't even wanted to look after at all. His eyes tried to keep him on the right path but his guts pointed him to another direction. The direction his guts pointed him to, was the direction he had come from. Astral wanted to do nothing more but to just return and get another route for his hike. He wouldn’t care if it took him longer.

The fog gave him an unpleasant feeling. Almost as if he was being watched by beings invisible through both the fog and for the eye. Beings that shouldn't have been there but inside of his mind. And that, was what worried him the most.

His pacing was cranked up a bit. He began to run a bit while his eyes tried to follow the path wherever it went too. But the fright and fears would become a reality soon enough for the stallion. He didn't wanted to believe it at first and kept going with his stubborn little mind like it was an everyday job or something the like.

While his visibility was almost zero and the darkened trees almost looking exactly the like from one another, it was impossible to tell if he was making progress, backtracked or just walked in circles. Hopes for being on time at the other side of the forest before nightfall became slimmer and slimmer as the stallions just kept walking, if not galloping.

He never wanted to admit it to himself, but he was lost. Lost within the nature of the forest he thought to have known so well. Astral just gave it up for the moment. There was nothing he could do anymore to save his hide. The road was lost and the shimmers in the fog kept looking at him as if they were preying on him. Everything was just a major mess and he knew it.

The blue maned stallion took his refuge against a tree and removed the saddlebags from his body. He placed them against the tree bark before he laid his own body against it with a deep sigh. Astral’s eyes looked up into the skies but only caught that never ending fog. It was something that troubled him more than anything he had encountered so far. He was lost in the woods of rumors.

Though when desperation struck, one started to believe a whole lot easier. And Astral Chrome was no exception to that rule, whether he wanted or not. Though losing the road was only the first part in a chain of events that were called upon him. For the rumors of the woods slowly became a dangerous reality.

~~~~

All of his worst possible fears came to him in a sneaking manner. They were hidden among the trees that were the furthest away from him. The stallion couldn't believe it at first and blinked a couple of times. Gone.

Each and every one of the figures was just gone. As if they went up in smoke itself. It gave him a good jumpscare but that was about it really. It was only after he had taken something out of his saddlebags to consume, that a yelp of fright was released from his mouth.

All of the mysterious figures had returned to him. All of them were looking at him with their gaping eyes. “T-This is impossible! You’re, you’re all dead!” he spoke up to them and shook his head with a set of closed eyes.

When Astral opened them up once again, he could see that the figures were gone once more. “This, this is madness. She, was right about it. This forest is cursed,” the stallion mumbled to himself. He took a bite out of his bread and dropped his head against the bark. The eyes closed themselves once more while felt his appetite just flowed away at the clop of a hoof.

A deep sigh was released through his mouth while the situation was hopeless. Astral had nothing that he could do, except to lose the battle he was fighting. He could give in against the fears of failing those who had passed before him.

The stallion could hear hoofsteps all of the sudden. They caused both of the ears to twitch a bit, though his eyes never opened themselves. “Come and get me,” Astral spoke up in a weakened voice. Time was lost for his senses and he had not even a clue just what had happened to him. But it had been hours since he even moved his legs to take another step. Hours that felt like seconds.

“Claim your reward, monster of White Tails, grant me a final sight before I lose my mind.”

But what he got in return weren't words spoken by any being. Instead he could see a bright blue light that shone through his closed eyelids. A thing that made him fear for the worst to come. With all of the strength that was residing inside of his body, the stallion tried to open up the eyes in order to see what was going after him, but the mind had other plans. For the lids remained shut as the horrible animalistic howls, growls and screeches were being made.

The sounds of a battle being fought right before him and he was too scared to even look. Precisely as planned by another being. But that light that was shone through his eyelids also filled him with something he hadn’t felt since he entered the woods. There was a hope, a hope that was purer than any other hope he had ever gotten into his life. It felt so good for his soul, but in his mind he knew it was only trouble.

~~~~

Time kept crawling by like it has done since its very dawn. The days turned to nights and the lives of the ponies that lived and thrived in the land, just continued like nothing had ever happened. But in their thought they knew that they had to be looking someplace else. That the disappearance of the famous unicorn tailor wasn't something out of unforeseen events but instead, it was perhaps a play made by her. That one day she would come back, with a remarkable tale of her own.

It were those kind of rumors that devastated not only the five friends but also the parents of the mare even more. They knew that the words spoken were lies said to keep the fires calm. The eyes of most of the peaceful townsfolk turned itself over to the more bigger cities like Manehatten, Fillydelphia and above all, Los Pegasus.

There were even words going around of the fact that she was just on a long holiday that hadn't been announced by her. But that bubble was quickly busted because of the fact that both Pearl and Magnum, her loving parents knew that their sweet daughter would never do such a thing without first informing them or her friends on the matter. She simply didn't do that, she had a business to run that needed to make a profit in order to keep existing.

It didn't add up for the both of them and as they sat together on the sofa one evening in their house near the lake, the two of them couldn't change their subject of conversation. “Rary wouldn't do such a thing, would she?” the pinkish mare asked while her head found itself on the chest of the stallion. He was stroking through her untangled mane and she caught the sigh he gave. That usually meant something bad was coming her way and the unicorn braced herself for it.

“There, is of course a first for everything honey, I mean, your parents weren't that happy when they discovered we were in love, but it caused you to sneak out of the house for the first time,” he replied to her in a calm tone. The stroking of the mane was never interrupted though.

“Hey, keep our love-life out of this, Maggy, this is your daughter we are talking about.”

“I know, I know, but I am just saying that, history can repeat itself.”

That caused the mare to turn her head upwards to meet the blue eyes of her husband with a questioning look in hers. “You mean, Rary is seeing somepony as well? But, that doesn't make her leave for that long, does it?” Pearl asked with care. Though in secret she feared the answer. The very thoughts that raced through her own mind where everything but pleasant to know.

Magnum on the other end, gave her a well-meant chuckle while he kept stroking through the mane. Eventually placed his foreleg on the shoulder of his loving wife. “The chances are there, if you ask me. But, how about we drop the subject for the night? More time to bicker around it tomorrow.”

“Bicker? Weren't we just discussing?” the mare replied with a giggle in her tone.

“Hmhmhm, alright, you have your way.” The stallion carefully planted his lips upon the head of his wife who erupted out in another gentle giggle while a faint blush appeared on her face.

The two of them kept snuggling on the sofa as the matter was put to rest in their words. But in their mind they were busy with it almost all of the time. Whether they knew it or not that was difficult to tell actually. Much like another pony in the quiet town and a baby dragon who lived at the library.

~~~~

“But what if we..?”

“No.”

“And if..?”

“No!”

“Come on, Twilight! There must be something that we can do to help out Rarity, or to find her even! Hey, can’t you sniff out her aura with that magic of yours?” the baby dragon spoke up almost in desperation. He kept following behind the mulberry unicorn in her study room.

For almost the entire evening had he had pestering her with the ideas. Ideas that were forged into complete and utter madness of his little mind. Ideas that could help them for certain, but also put their own lives at stake because of the massive amounts of risks. Eventually was the bucket full for the unicorn. Twilight dropped her body in a chair that stood near the desk. After that she turned her head around in order to look at him. “True that every unicorn has its own magical aura and hum to it, it is not simple to perform such a spell. My radius doesn't even cover half of Ponyville. I doubt even princess Celestia is able to pull off a spell of that magnitude,” Twilight replied to him. She had gotten more than tired of his words and little plans.

“But, what if you three w-”

Before he could even continue that sentence had the unicorn interrupted him once again. “No,” she spoke up in a raised voice before her eyes fell shut and her emotions calmed down. “No Spike, as much I also want to, there is nothing we can do except to wait out and pray the storm goes down so the search continues.”

“But,” the dragon started, “nopony is doing anything to find her!”

“That’s not true! Ponies are working around the clock to find her in other parts of the land, now go to sleep. You’ll be needing it,” Twilight spoke in a much calmer tone to him. She turned herself towards the desk and face the problems that laid on it.

With a grumble in his undertone had the dragon left the study. He went almost straight over to the bedroom where he dropped himself in the basket and curled up into a ball. Spike had a hard time understanding the manner of thinking many others had over the situation. Though his mind was still young. With a tear that left from his right eye, he fell asleep while thinking about the love of his life and the chances that were there.

Though it was only hours later, far after the clock had hit midnight that the mare herself quietly entered the bedroom and looked upon the moonlight indulged room. Outside of the ordinary, there was one thing that she caught outside of it.

With carefully placed steps had she moved over to the basket that the dragon had called home ever since he was hatched and the mare took the blanket in her mouth. With one swift motion was it placed back over the body of Spike who only released a soft moan. The unicorn looked over him as she spoke the words that were stuck in her throat. “I, I wish I had the answers on your questions, little Spike, but I just don’t.” Her tone was soft, close to crying herself. Words that came directly from her heart and were the honest truth about the matter.

Twilight’s head met with her pillow before she looked outside of her window, to the land of Equestria and the many mysteries it housed. But in her mind she only thought about the well-being of her friend. Nothing more and nothing less. The violet colored rims were closed off from the world and the mare drifted away into lands unknown.

~~~~

When the blue light before his eyelids faded away again and the sounds fell into nothing but the silence of the forest, Astral Chrome cared to open up one of his eyes. And what he caught in it, was a blurry white background with a grayish blob in the middle of it. “Don’t be afraid, you’ll be safe,” a feminine voice spoke up to him. A voice that came out of the direction of the mysterious blob.

The stallion was both baffled and speechless on the matter as it played out before him. He had no idea who this pony was and why it helped him out of his situation. Yet what was the most interesting part of it all, was that the voice itself that was calming his thoughts down from almost everything that had tormented him. And almost naturally, he opened up his other eye to get a better view on the savior, but also to stand up and walk with her.

For the creature calmly signaled him to follow her. Astral had not a single clue where he was going to be bright but anyplace would be better than the hole he got into. Or so he thought. Because the woods of White Tails had a lot more to them then they gave away.

In calm and silence did the two ponies walk through the forest. The eyes of the stallion couldn't help it but to notice two things on the whole matter. The first one being the more obvious one, the sheer size of the mare. The being was almost as tall as Celestia herself, but on the flanks there were no cutie marks to be found. Such a wonderful looking mare, and no mark? he thought to himself before it was dropped out of his mind again. Astral looked over to the second finding. That being the whole fact that the fog bend around her as she walked through it.

It was a curious feature but he didn't even dare to speak against her in case he would offend her. With each step they took, they came closer towards their headed destination. Which was nothing else than the dreaded domain of the entity that was nopony else but Nightmare Rarity.

He was just amazed by the fact that such a structure could even be build inside of the forest, especially one that was filled with as much rumor as it was. The mare just brought him over to the courtyard of the place. There she signaled him to wait before the being turned herself back around.

“Wait! Can, can I at least know your name?” Astral spoke up towards the mare. But she never gave him any response to it. Her legs started to carry her away to places far away as she gently disappeared inside of the fog once more. Just as mysterious as she came, she had disappeared again. “This, is unusual.” he mumbled to himself before the stallion turned himself back around and made the big mistake to take a step forward.

For only a mere second after his hoof had touched the ground once again, four blobs of shadow jumped out of the ground and forced him to the ground. Astral had nothing he could fight back with and just let the events happen as they came. The last thing he felt before losing his consciousness was the hit that his belly made to the ground below him.

~~~~

Hours had passed before the green coated stallion would have begun to moan and groan. The hit that knocked him out, had taken a lot more of his time than he originally had thought it would have. If he could have thought about it all in the first place. His brain was pounding against the skull and with the eyes still closed firm, Astral rose up against a wall that felt like bars. He just held his head a couple of seconds who turned into a minute.

“Owha, what on earth was that all good for?” the stallion muttered to himself while the pain eased itself. More and more he could feel of the world as it was around him. It was everything but pleasant though. For the ground was cold as stone and his back was set against what appeared to be steel bars or something the like. His ears caught more and more of the surrounding and the quiet moans and groans of other ponies drilled itself into his skull.

Everything combined caused the stallion to open his eyes wide. Where he thought to meet a bright light, he only met a faint torch that was enough to cast light upon the situation. Astral found himself in a prison, but unlike any he had ever seen before in his life. “P-Prisoner?” he mumbled out quietly to himself. It was nearly impossible to describe the feelings that raced through him.

But then he thought back, back to those sounds he had heard and looked around him. A cell that was big enough to hold five stallions on the ground he was dumped in but he was all alone in it. Surrounded by bars from three sides as the remaining wall, ceiling and floor were nothing but this dark coloring. It wasn't the structure like stone but more like crystal or something the like.

It all seemed to be impossible already for him yet then he looked over the floor of the cell and the cells he could look at through the bars. Each of them gave off the same horrible sight. Ponies –mares and stallions alike– that were all curled up and shivering in fear. Some appeared to be braindead while they leaned against the bars of walls without any motion.

“I’m in the asylum!” Astral whispered loud to himself. He didn't even made an attempt to speak with the other captives as he was just thought about the fact of saving his own skin and judging their looks, they were gone for a long time.

His eye started to peel around the place a bit more with only one thought in mind. The very thing he hungered the most for. “I need, I need to get out of here!” But that little plan of him, would be a bit harder to truly execute then he thought because she was willing to continue the cause of destruction. She was coming his way. Wherever she went, there was no escape.

Some of the captives knew the time that was upon them and already started to make their retreat into the shadows of their cell. Hiding for her and her demonic minions. The only safety they had and would ever have within their cells.

06 Revelations of the monster

Astral had spent inside of his cell. Days he hadn't even seen the sunlight and slept under the moans and groans of those in the cells next to him. Their whispers of words that were filled with both insanity and fear, had worn him down greater than the stallion could have ever imagined. His very own lines of sanity and insanity became thinner and thinner by the day, if not hour. But the case he was in wasn't as severe as some of the others were in.

His looks had turned into that of a complete wreck. He hadn't showered or got a good night’s rest in days. It was mostly because of those same moans and groans that he couldn't keep his head straight and sleep in at night. That all just led back to his very own insecurity. There was nothing he could do to even improve his situation. Sure he was looking for an escape route, but that was impossible for the earth pony to find. Unless he could chew through the diamonds or something the like. Escaping just wasn't an option anymore for him.

Even if it still was, even if he managed to get out of his cell, he had to find a way out of the fortress and that meant not getting caught by those black stallions who worked him to the ground the first time. To add the cream on top of the pie, he still had to walk back through the woods of White Tails. Maneuver his body back through that dreaded forest of utter insanity. Which on its own turn meant that he had to encounter that being that brought him there in first place. Not to forget that he had face his fears once more.

All things considered and thought about deeply, there wasn't any way in which the stallion could have escaped and could have made progress with it. The situation in his eyes was just hopeless. Astral had thrown the towel in the ring for the plan. Whoever wanted him there, had the price. Whatever would happen to him would be something of a question rather left unanswered in his mind.

Every time he felt that the warmth of the sun disappearing from the crystals and the cold of night setting in. That way he managed to keep some track of day and night. But dates, hours and minutes were shattered for his weakened mind. Astral Chrome found himself leaning against one of the barred sidewalls and quietly hummed some tunes to himself. They were small pieces from songs he used to listen to in his time off. A thought that made him chuckle for whatever reason.

The calming tunes kept going through the dungeon he was in. Some of the hopelessly lost ponies listened to him. They listened with both ears perked for nothing but him. While he continued on with his eyes closed. Between all of their misery that was placed upon them without real cause, it was good for them all to have at least something to keep them alive.

“N-Not bad,” was one of the many words that were spoken to him while his tunes kept going. Astral didn't appear to be hearing any of their voices though. He had sunken in his thoughts and mostly hummed the songs in order to keep his own mind as straight as possible. Even though the odds to keep that happening were about impossible to say the least.

Out of all of the dozen prisoners had none of them even as much as dared to start to sing a song but when he came to one particular song, a song of the ancient times that was taught at most schools. And there was one unicorn stallion who couldn't hold himself anymore.

He was defeated by his own fears. Constantly shivering and looking over his back had this particular unicorn always laid down on the ground and never spoke even a word. Yet as soon as the first tunes of the song entered his ears, he gently removed the forelegs from his head which then rose up. His dull, gray colored eyes just looked at the back of Astral. His ears realized where the soothing sounds came from.

Before any of the other prisoners could say or do anything, the unicorn started to hum along. His tunes were the first time ever since Astral got captured that somepony else was joining him in the sounds. It was a hopeful moment in a time where no hope was shown to the world.

~~~~

Each of the locked up ponies, for as long as song was hummed by the two of them, forgot all of their troubles and secretly enjoyed the moment. Their fears had fallen into the abyss of darkness where they came from. They quietly tried their best to hum along with the tunes they heard. The entire prison fell in an unnatural but hopeful silence as all the eyes of the captive ponies were focused upon either Astral or the unicorn.

For the first time ever since they were caught and brought down into the hellhole they ended up with and it seemed to be like a little paradise that it had turned into. Their minds felt they were being healed and their conditions cured. It was something that almost felt too good to be true.

That it sadly happened to be though. When the song ended, Astral continued on his own again while the unicorn kept himself quiet once more. His head lowered itself towards the ground and his forelegs were placed upon it while the eyes were closed off from the world.

It was almost in a single millisecond that the wonderful and harmonious atmosphere was again replaced by the hard reality of the situation. Something that was truly unbelievable for the mind of the green coated stallion. Yet on the other end – when he opened his eyes and revealed the dulled out rims they had– he could understand almost right away just why it happened.

Hope had gone and left them in the invisible gust of wind. It was being carried away to those who needed it more than they did. Because for them it was the end of the line. At least that was the stallion’s thinking. His humming came to a stop and the less sound he produced, the more prisoners began to hide themselves into the darkest part of their cells.

The stallion himself knew why they scurried away and he knew that all too well. For the guards were coming down to them to either have some sickening fun with the mentally broken or to carry them away to the door at the end of the hallway. He had no idea just what laid behind it but he knew it was bad as the screams of agony were about the only thing that left the place.

Nothing that got in there would have left without having screamed the lungs out of the body. And for what? Astral had not even the slightest of clues and rather didn't found out either. But one could only jump away of the dance with madness so many times. Each time the guards came down and his chances got less that he would be left alone.

There wasn't any pattern in their manner of working either. They literally picked out ponies at random so he couldn't predict when it could be his turn. Some had gone for three times in two days, while others went never. Perhaps it was because of the facts of who they happened to be before they were mentally worn. Because the names and the pasts of all of co-captives was something that remained firmly hidden from Astral Chrome. He knew nothing about them but they knew nothing about him. A thing that was perhaps for the better going of life.

~~~~

Two sets of hoofsteps appeared to be coming down from the spiraling staircase. From his cell had the stallion a rather good view upon the structure. He had quickly figured out that it either went straight up into the tower he saw for seconds, or that they were placed under the surface of the earth. Nothing was certain until he had seen the reality of the dreaded place for himself.

Though one of those realities was the fact that the guards all looked like stallions. But these were black of color and they had smoking or clouded manes and tails. But the worst part had to be their eyes. For those were nonexistent. None of the guards he had ever seen coming down into the place had eyes. All that they had were just two gaping holes in the places where the eyes should be.

That was with the exception of one though. There was one guard who was broader and much more muscular than the others in appearance. One that terrified most of the captives and frightened the stallion. For his sapphire eyes went passed ponies like searchlights. They weren't just sapphire blue in color as they were the actual gem stuffed inside of his eye sockets. Perhaps even more terrifying was the very fact that they could actually move to give him real eyes, except it were gems.

It shuddered Astral every time he thought about it. Before he even knew it, he was looking at them again. That very same shadow stallion stood at the bottom of the staircase and huffed loud towards the ponies that were behind the bars. Then he walked further in and passed some cells.

It was only than that the second set of hooves made it downstairs and the stallion was still carefully moving not to look over to the sapphire eyed shadow, laid his eyes upon the other being. Who was revealed to be more slender build stallion and appeared more like a regular stallion. With the exception of his eyes though. They were emeralds crammed into the socket.

When the eyes of the second, dark colored stallion opened themselves up and revealed their glory to the world, Astral got a shock that raced through his entire body. A shock that caused him to jump back even further from the bars of his cell and reach for his heart in order to calm it down.

The wanted words never left his mouth. Though his mind just yelled them like there was no tomorrow. The second stallion walked over to the sapphire eyed one and they both gave a nod. But as the nod was given, Astral caught a signaling motion from another pony who called him into the darkness. As he was the only pony that was still out in the light. “She’s coming,” was faintly whispered to him,

“Who's coming?” Astral asked the pony. Though the silence between them had fallen already. Without a warning was there a third and much heavier sounding, set of hooves. It appeared to have made its way down the staircase. The terrified stallion had no idea just what was awaiting him when the third individual revealed itself towards them.

All of the prisoners apparently know what was coming their way and they had the best of reasons to be truly terrified. The very master of the horrible experiments was coming down to conduct a new one. An experiment on any unfortunate soul who suited the matter.

The green coated stallion gulped loud. Yet found the courage to remain in his position. He wanted to see that what came in the fullest of glories before him. He could only pray that it wouldn't be as bad as his mind made him believe. But little did he knew that all of his believes and hopes were standing at the point of being shattered like a hoofclap.

For at the bottom of the stairs appeared the third being, whose size was matched by only Celestia herself. A slender body that could have been given off by the goddess and a coat that was as dark blue as the night was. The hair of this being, of this mare, was purple of color and had a white streaking going through them. The mane was styled in such a manner that it covered the right side of her face almost completely and then he saw it. The horn she carried. That almost never ending horn.

A horn of a unicorn but lacking of the pegasus wings. This mare, that creature was a normal pony who possibly had created the hell for each of them. A mare whose body was a gift from the world above in the skies, whose sapphire blue and green eyes sparkled a little bit in their corners while the black cat like slits of pupils caught everything that was going on in the dungeon.

Though last but not least, there was the cutie mark. Three gems that looked like stars which stood in their triangular pattern with numerous other sparkles around it. A view worth killing for, was the only thing that went into the mind of the stallion. And that was where the others tried to warn him for. But she couldn't be the cause of it all, or could she?

Astral was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the unicorn. Her coat looked so perfect, her mane had been styled almost perfect, it almost felt like he had fallen in love with her. But that very feeling suddenly felt just wrong to deep into his guts. The aura she irradiated and the overall pose she stood in, all of it made certain that she was the conjuncture of it all. She was in charge of every single event that was going on there. And yet, he remembered her looks.

Then he realized it and scurried back into the shadows as well. She was the same pony who brought him there in the first place. She was directly responsible for his very capture. Oh no, no, no, no, no, the blue maned stallion thought deeply by himself as their eyes lost contact with one another. He was sailing in the deep at that moment and she was taking another step into the place.

Each hoof that was set back on the ground just roared with power. She was certain of her business and even her steps showed that to those in the cells. They could try to defeat her without a question as the bars weren't protected by any magical forcefields or things the likes. But none of them even dared for the forces that they would receive in return as their plan would be executed.

Fear took the body of Astral over. He didn't wanted to have the least bit to do with her and he just kept going further and further against the wall in the back of his cell. He turned his entire head away from her and closed his eyes with a force unseen before. The prayers were softly whispered for good luck to help and guide him through the dark times, but those prayers were almost good for nothing.

~~~~

The mysterious unicorn herself took another step. Then another one before the souls in the cells realized she was walking towards them. But at which cell she would stop was the question they all had in their twisted mind for the matter. She could be stopping at anypony’s cell and they all knew that. Yet it was Astral who was fearing the worst of the worst. For in all of his time that he sat there as a prisoner, he had never seen the unicorn. And since he was possibly the only pony who hadn't gone through that door, his time could very well be there. A frightening thought indeed.

It was that very thought which frightened him to his very soul. Such a beauty to look at and being such a rotten devil on the inside, that was the earliest conclusion drawn out of her. Prayers were lost while he could feel her mixed eyes of blue and green staring at him. A pair of eyes that didn't just went over his body, but just pierced right through it. They were looking straight into his soul and that burned like mad in his chest.

The eyes of this devious unicorn on the other end just kept themselves focused upon the stallion for a good minute. Her head then turned itself towards the other prisoners and a deep huff was released from the body. All that she saw were the empty cells. It’s guests all had scurried away into the darkness of them. All in the faint attempt of trying to escape her and that deadly gaze. Yet there was little that could escape her.

In silence had she turned her head back towards Astral and kept gazing upon his body. She could feel the sheer mental torment that he had gone through and it was that which caused her to grin like a devil. The eerie silence that had fallen inside the dungeon was almost unbearable to withstand. All that could be heard was the soft breathing of the shadows and the unicorn herself. For the rest it was as silent as a graveyard.

Fears and horrors plagued them all as Astral got visions of a world long forgotten and his fears once more came after him. Unable to scream or move, he could only kick his legs to the ground and that was what he did. The hind legs of his body began to kick. Almost as if they were running and every so often they were revealed in the light of the cell.

The unicorn herself was very content with that progression and she dared to open up her mouth. What left were the words spoken in an ominous tone that was filled with darkness, but also this high level of ladyness. A polite, warm tone mixed with sinister and dark deeds. “Bring him to the chamber,” she spoke up and then removed herself from the cell.

Both of the shadow stallions nodded to the demand. It would have been the emerald eyed stallion who opened the door. Then the sapphire eyed stallion almost rushed in. Before Astral could even knew what was going on, he was dragged into the light. His eyes blinking heavy from what had happened. The stallion dropped his head to the back and caught the sight he didn’t wanted to see.

The sapphire eyed stallion was dragging him by one of his hooves. Uncertain of what would happen, he could only let it happen and pray that it would be over quickly. But that would make things a little bit too easy.

~~~~

Astral was brought to the end of the hallway and went through the ominous door that was closed most of the time. He could only imagine the horrible torture devices that they had come up with. Devices used in order to restrain the prisoners to the state as they were in their cells.

The green coated stallion was placed upon a table. He could feel that his hooves were being strapped against it. He held his eyes closed. Astral didn't wanted to see what hung above him. His muscles were sent into overdrive as he wanted to keep his eyes firmly shut. Though it was his heart that spoke about opening them and see the horrors above.

Once the hooves were strapped, the stallions appeared to have left the room. Though the heavy and powerful steps of the unicorn entered the place before the door was closed with a loud bang. A bang that was loud enough to make Astral jump up a bit on the tabletop but his eyes were still firmly closed. And that sound alone was more than enough to get him to whisper his final words. “How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I just listen to her and took the routes around the place? This place, is going to be my tomb for certain…” With his mind tortured by the fog and the time in the prison, there was little he could do for himself in order to save himself.

The words that he spoke were some of true gibberish. Inside of his own mind it made all perfect sense. That made as much sense as he could possibly make into his situation. The world that he could fainted in an out of his ears but he got a major reality check at one moment in time. A check that was done by the devilish unicorn herself.

All of the sudden had she flipped the table from its horizontal position into a near straight, vertical one. That movement alone was powerful enough for his heart to take over and open the eyes he had been given. His dulled out rims caught the hoof that was set back on the ground before he found himself staring right inside of her blue eyes. A sight that frightened him even more as the shivers started to travel all over his body.

Almost as soon as the two made eye contact with one another did the unicorn started to speak words. But with Astral’s hearing ability fading in and out every so often, he could only hear some of the words that were spoken against him. And those tiny fragments weren't enough for him to make anything out of them.

Then he dared to ask a question of his own. A question to which he wanted the answer on ever since he was brought into the hell. “W-Why did you, brought me here?” Astral managed to say through all the mental stress and aching of his body.

Before he was granted an answer, did his eyes began to look around the room. There he found one of the worst things possible. For inside of the chamber they were in, there was absolutely nothing else to be found that could indicate him about what she did to the poor ponies. With the fear concealing itself, the stallion returned his looks back to her and time almost froze for him.

When he looked at her face, his eyes caught the base of the horn. They just begun to follow it up and up until the tip was met. And then he caught it for the first time. That mysterious item on the very tip of the magical horn. A gem. A gem that was almost like those of her cutie mark except in the dimensions they lived in.

Time returned back to its normal speed as he looked her back in the eyes as her mouth started to move. Oddly enough didn't fail his hearing him one bit. “It wasn't myself directly who brought you in here. It were some of my pets, forces of mine who have taken the likes of me to gain the trust of ponies like yourself, and guided them over to here. To a degree dear, you’re responsible for your own doom,” the mare replied to him in a calm tone. She took a couple steps back from him. She would be requiring space for whatever came next.

The words that were spoken against him, hit Astral like a train against a wall. She actually rubbed the mistake even further into his face. The feelings of regret became only bigger with time.

The horn of the unicorn had begun to coat itself in the light blue magical aura. His eyes caught it coming up from the base. He would have just watched it traveling over the entire length of the horn, but also noticed how it indulging the gem on top. The hums of the charge became almost static to him while some strands of hair rose up. “W-Who are you..?” Astral dared to ask. It was the question of questions, but he wanted to know the name of his attacker.

The reasons of why a mare of her size and caliber was doing something as horrible as he was experiencing at that time left him cold. He wanted a name and nothing more. The charging of the unicorn her magic simply kept going as she did hear the question and chuckled quietly to herself. “I suppose, for a last request I can tell you,” the unicorn spoke up to him. The horn was kept both charged and primed while she walked up once more to him.

Her head was almost in the perfect position when it met up with his ear. She whispered her venomous words right inside of it. She spoke to him in that same tone as before, but the words had a much deeper impact upon his mind and soul. “The name I live under is a name you have heard countless times through the shadows. A name that was banished for over a thousand years mixed with that of generosity. I am, Nightmare Rarity. And you, you should fear me more than anything.”

Those words, that name, spoken in that tone, all caused the stallion to shudder from his ear down. All of it seemed to be just so impossible to him. He knew that Rarity was the element of generosity but he had never even seen her alive. Not to mention the fact that she called herself Nightmare. It only added more fuel to the fires of confusion in his mind. Astral was getting more and more weakened in his mind while the unicorn returned back to her original spot.

~~~~

There was nothing that he could do in order to save his skin. With the information known to him there was only one last thing that he could do and that was to accept the horrible fate that came to him. His end to the life as he knew it. Perhaps we would die by her horn which would be something like a gift from the heavens above. Though in the worst case scenario, he would become like the ponies in the other cells. Braindead and always frightened by things that weren't there. It wasn't a fate he was happy to meet or to see anywhere else outside. He had to stretch time, no matter the cost and figure out what she was planning to do, with him.

“W-What are you, g-going to do, with, m-me?” Astral managed to bring forth towards Nightmare Rarity. Who on her own turn rose an eyebrow to him. It was a question that surprised her with every new victim she had a personal ‘chat’ with. A question of wanting to know the unknown. They wanted to learn the horrible truth behind the deeds to come. Something that interested her more than anything in the world. The minds of ponies were such a fascination for her.

Though it also was a question she was more than happy to answer for him. Because knowing the horrible truth was better than spewing a wonderful lie. Her mouth itself up against and the words left her mouth once more. “There isn't all too much that is going to happen to you. But you will never be able to live your life as you are used to it. For that time, after this wonderful spell has done its job, is over and you shall become just like them. Damned to the pits of Tartarus to rot for eternity. All while looking over your shoulder every second and see that what you fear the most.” Her tone calm was again calm, but filled with sinister intentions in the undertone.

Astral couldn't believe the spoken words. She wanted to make him like those in the other cells. The feeling of him knowing too much rose up inside of him and he allowed his head to rest upon the tabletop as his breathing became more intense. He was waiting for the killing blast to hit him as his chest was shown in the fullest of glories.

“Hit me than. Come on and hit me. Just do it already!” It was just one of the many pleads that he made as she took her sweet time in order to actually fire up the stored spell. Of course was Nightmare Rarity more than ready to fire the blast if she wanted. But she wanted to make him feel the despair and hopelessness that fueled her heart. All the orders shouted, the pleads made to hit him with the charge, were all left unanswered.

It caused the look in her eyes to change from calm to visually angry. Because the fuel in her heart, was carried through her blood and send throughout her entire body. Each vein carried the deadly fuel inside of it and that was more than enough to make it happen. Her eyes looked upon his head as he had closed his and gave it up completely.

“What is there, too still lose for… me?” Astral questioned himself.

“There is always something to lose!” Nightmare Rarity suddenly bellowed towards him.

Though that shout was more than enough for the stallion to shock up and look her right back in the eyes. He had started to pant deep as that shout was about the last thing he had expected from her but quickly turned his gaze over to the tip of the horn. Only to realize that the moment was too late. Whatever she was planning to do with him, it was becoming a severe reality for him. All that he could do in the moment, was to keep himself strong in his mentally deluded state of mind and soul.

The blue magic that had been collecting itself around her horn was released in the fullest of glories. A massive flash if lightning was released from the horn. It zapped its way right over to the stallion’s head. The moment the flash met his skull, the screams of pure agony did their turn through the room. The pain was simply unbearable for him and he started to cry out for his family and friends back home. But no matter what he did, nothing relieved that hellish pain that was aching through his body. Astral Chrome closed his eyes as he wanted to get out of the contraption but never found the way of doing it. So instead he could only take it like the stallion he was.

Nightmare Rarity on the other end, she was grinning like a devil as she kept releasing the charge into the mind of the poor stallion. But what truly happened was that the spell she performed was one of the many she had learned into the old library. A spell that would break a pony from reality, literally.

~~~~

For what the spell did was something that many thought to have been just impossible to do. A spell powerful that was enough to make the pony it was cast on live in an alternative dimension. It was known that when somepony didn't had enough sleep that the lines between the mind and the reality became fainter and fainter as more time progressed.

What she had managed to cast was a spell that had the same effect. Except for the fact that it could be done by perfectly healthy ponies. It didn't just slowly tore it down, it obliterated it. The fine line between the mind and the real world would be shattered. Which in return caused the two to mix together and become a pulp unseen before and unimaginable.

Sadly enough, that wasn't all of it. For she also added the same spell to the mix that caused the fog to turn so spooky. The very spell that caused the fears to come to life. With the mind unable to separate fact from fiction, all of it would seem like honest facts. That was exactly what had happened to all the other ponies in the dungeon and Astral Chrome was just another addition to the subjects it had been tested upon.

For a few minutes had Nightmare Rarity kept casting the deadly and dangerous spell before all of the energy was lost in the air. In the eyes of Astral did his worst possible fears come to life. They seemed to have come for him from behind the unicorn and he could feel them stroking his cheek. That was just before he lost his conscience and went into a state of shock.

The unicorn just nodded to the events and she opened the door with another charge of magic. She took a couple of steps out of it and looked over to the sapphire and emerald eyed shadow stallions. “Commanders Fright and Blood, make sure that our little guest is ready to travel back the way he came. He knows what he needs to do once he is inside that inn again. The message given would be clear enough if I think so myself.”

The two stallions nodded to the words that were spoken and they walked back into the chamber. Whereas the mare begun to head back over to the staircase and disappeared from the dungeon by going upwards. She was done with her testing for the day. The supplemental message she wanted to spread was given to him through that spell. The nightmarish unicorn continued to walk up the stairs while she sunk deep into her thoughts of madness.

~~~~

It was only after she had descend another set of steps, that the mare entered her throne room and took place upon her selfmade throne of dark crystal. Its style was having an odd resemblance to that of Sombra’s and Celestia’s. In the faintly lit room she looked at the banner. One that was slightly modified from the ancient unicorn flag, to suit her liking. With only two torches that lit up the room couldn't the light even reach the throne itself. Though it did reach the wall to show the banner in a faint manner. It was the way that she preferred the place to be.

Once she had taken her position back upon the throne as a whole, the unicorn began to mumble to herself. Plans were forged inside of her head and by herself. As well as the results of various tests being compared to one another. One of the perhaps most striking results that she found was the simple fact that if she placed more power into her fear indulging spell, the indoctrination time would be a lot less but also a lot more painful.

When done in quantities as it had been done inside the fog, it would slow her progression down to get her targets but it would be nearly untraceable back to her. It was something that only an evil genius could possibly predict and come up with. Yet Nightmare Rarity was neither of them in her own eyes. For she was a deadly beauty and the world needed to know that. The rumors were a good start to kick everything off, but over time she would be more feared that Nightmare Moon herself.

~~~~

Both of the commanders had untied the stallion from the contraption and dragged him out of the dungeon. Astral Chrome was brought over to the front gate of the place and just thrown to the world outside like a piece of garbage or a broken toy. No value for pony life did those shadow creatures had whatsoever. Though when the stallion was dropped to the ground, there was a small magical orb that came to his assistance. An orb that was of an unknown origin. In his mentally shattered state of mind, Astral was just glad that nothing would attack him.

After minutes of having laid down on the ground, had the stallion managed to stand back upon all four of his legs. He had no idea what had happened to him at all. But he knew that his fears would be lurking around every corner, behind every tree. Something inside of his guts told him that.

Then he spotted the dancing orb and tilted his head towards it. “Oh, hello there,” he carefully brought out towards it. The orb on the other end didn't gave a response to it and started to dart into the woods. Something that Astral also started to do and the plan came together. He was being lured away from the place with his shattered mind and instructions clear as crystal.

~~~~

Back inside of the inn that stood at the north end of the woods, the pegasus mare was looking how the evening progressed. She noticed how the last rays of sunlight disappearing behind the hills. The darkness had taken over and the night had begun for them all. “Another night, another problem,” she mumbled up to herself. Once again had she leaned against the wall. With her forelegs crossed over one another did she just glance over the guests.

The barkeeper came standing next to her and gave her a faint smile while he caught those little words of her. “Personally, I would word it differently, but it would come down to the same problem. You really think something bad is going to happen tonight?” he replied.

“After what I did to that respectless earth pony? I have been waiting all that time for his return, really. All that time I have kept my eyes on that single door to fly open and see him standing before me, begging for forgiveness,” she said to him. She tried to remain calm, but her anger and hatred still hadn't laid down. She had of course all of her reasons to do and be so. But the barkeeper had to admit one fact: she held the grudge a little bit too long in his eyes.

Nonetheless, the evening itself walked like smooth silk and closing time was just around the corner. “Would you lock the door for the night? Everypony is inside and this wind is getting on my nerves,” the barkeeper spoke up to the mare. “Bad news is coming tonight and you know it.”

The inn-keeper gave a simple nod in response to it and walked over to the door. She had to agree with him as the night had turned spooky and she wasn't liking it one bit at all. Something was still giving her the shivers that something terrible had to happen that night but she couldn't place her thoughts on what.

But the reality of the situation was getting closer to the both of them. The pegasus mare didn’t lock the door to start with. Instead she opened it. She had heard a faint sound that came from the other side. A sound that seemed to have been a terrified breathing.

With the fear that ran through her veins, the pegasus opened the door and was almost attacked by a green and blue blob. Two forelegs were locked around her neck as her face was brought over with her screaming for her life. “Get away from me, you dangling freak!” the mare screamed against the thing that had her and struggled to get loose.

“You can’t run away from your fears,” was suddenly spoken in a voice she knew all too well. “She’ll come around to strike it in the hearts of every living pony. She isn't out for anything that can be paid with, she simply is going to be…” Even though the voice was well known, there was still that ever so haunting undertone into it. A tone that was filled with fear of almost every living creature.

All of the sudden was the hold lost. The head of the mysterious pony thudded against the doorway, knocking it out. It was only than that the mare was given her first look at the pony. In an instant had she gasped for air. With a couple of small steps did she spoke the only word that she could even come up with in absolute fright. “You!” In the opening of the door he had fallen and laid nopony else than the mentally tormented Astral Chrome. Much to the scare of the inn-keeper herself.

07 Letting go

Two months had passed since the unfortunate stallion named Astral Chrome had fallen victim to possibly the worst pony that somepony would ever come across. Thanks to his mental conditions, it only allowed him to speak the warning that was given off by the queen herself. The rest of his words would have turned into nothing but utter gibberish. Uncertain of that what they could possibly be doing for the poor stallion had the inn owner made the decision to let him be transported to the only place where she knew they could help him to the best of their abilities. And that place was nowhere else than Canterlot itself.

The majestic and royal city on top and alongside the beautiful mountain was a sight that many loved. Though just as many had tried to destroy it in the past. Creatures like the elusive and dangerous changelings had been spotted, the ancient unicorn king named Sombra once tried to siege the city and claim it. The god of chaos and disharmony himself even tried it, twice. But the only one who actually managed to almost succeed upon the dangerous act had to be the previous Nightmare. The remains of what kind of hatred was flowing through the body of the princess of the night,

It was Nightmare Moon who had almost managed to taken over, twice as well. Though during her last attempt, she was stopped by the elements of harmony. The very elements in which she resided for part of her soul. The city had seen and suffered great loses itself but it always managed to become the beauty of Equestria no matter what. It was home to the most socially high placed ponies and even the home of the princesses themselves. Both princess Celestia and Luna resided inside of the castle that was built almost hanging off of the side of the mountain.

And it would be that very same castle where the first and only known survivor of the vicious White Tail attacks would be brought. For a doctor was almost galloping through the hallways, the labcoat waving in his wake as the panting became only deeper and deeper. The stallion didn't care for any ponies who might have been in the way whatsoever as all he cared for was to get his words out by the royals themselves.

Whether they would be pleased with his interruption, would be something to worry about later. For his findings and his patient could give a lot more insight in the fact of just what was going on in the woods of White Tails itself.

~~~~

Panting for his dear life had the stallion galloped into the throne room. The very room where both of the royal princesses happened to be present and discussing things of long ago. Their mood was something happy, nostalgic even when they spoke about times they were just fillies themselves. Yet it was Luna who first turned her eyes away. All in order to witness the aged doctor. In her one visible eye did she caught an old stallion with squared glasses and a labcoat. What she had to do in the situation, was absolutely unknown to her at the time being. Her eye narrowed a bit while she remained silent.

Would she get mad at him for the interruption? Would she scold him away for interrupting like the way he did? Or would she just remain calm and ask for an explanation? Even after her return to the throne as she was supposed to be, her entire personality had suffered at the hooves of her nightmarish incarnation. It showed the fractures that it created. Luna’s soul had never fully returned to a state none of the current living ponies had seen with the exception of one, her older sister.

Though Luna allowed herself a deep breath before her words were released in a calm tone. Something that even caught Celestia by surprise. They both had taken their relaxing position upon the royal throne. “If we, I’m sorry, if I may ask, what is the meaning of this rude walk-in into throne room?” Luna asked of him. But the doctor could hear a sense of curiosity in her voice. It wasn't that much, but the signs were obviously there. That was something that worried him a lot as he had to reply against the both of them.

It was a once in a lifetime event and the doctor knew he couldn't give himself any form of error. He scraped his throat with a hoof and started to pace a little bit up and down. Celestia kept a watchful eye on him. She was well aware that the words would come to him once the time was right. Patience was and always would be a virtue in the mind of the elder sister. Celestia was one of the few in the land who could say that she had waited more than anypony to see somepony dear to her, return back home.

The both of them irradiated a certain calm over the aged stallion, whose heart was almost beating inside of the same throat. “We,” the stallion started before he turned his head over to the both of them. Both royals focused their one visible eye back on him with a stern but justifying look. “Well, I, was given a patient back in the asylum to take care of. But after first and original diagnosis, my first thought was that this particular pony had gone mad. But when I searched through his backstory, there wasn't any lead that could have driven him to it. Not to mention these constant fright attacks. But perhaps the biggest lead might be the only words he is actually capable to speak, you can’t run away from your fears. And last but not least, he was found near the woods of White Tails. Your highness’, I think we might actually have, a confirming truth to the horrible gossip.”

The royals were listening to his story almost with open mouths. Neither of them could even believe the words he spoke towards them. Of course had they too heard the rumors of the woods but shoved it off as common folklore. Though with the evidence given right in their laps, they couldn't deny it. They possibly didn't even wanted to deny it even more. Something was going on.

Action was the first thing that came into the mind of Celestia as she knew almost exactly what she wanted to do. “Doctor, bring me, and my sister if she wants to, to your patient. We want to see and hear the things for ourselves. We want to hear those words exactly, out of his mouth. Do you object if I go straight away?” she spoke to the doctor. Her body rose itself up from the throne, ready to do when it was needed.

The aged doctor was taken by a major surprise from the made proposal and couldn't do anything else than to give a nod to the most powerful magical being in the land. He began to lead the way for both Celestia as Luna. The latter had rather stayed behind to at least have one of the two in control of the castle. Though the two of them disappeared out of the door. Luna released a deep sigh through her nostrils before she also left the throne.

Her direction would be someplace else though. A place where she could be deep inside of her thoughts alone and think about her deeds of madness from times long gone. Times that still haunted her like ghosts. Nightmares that would wake her up from her slumber. And the only place she would be able to do that was the private garden she kept somewhere in the castle. Her place of total serenity and peace.

~~~~

A heavy metal door screeched open. In the opening stood nopony else then princess Celestia. For a month and a half had she been visiting the broken Astral Chrome daily to check upon his condition. A condition that only became worse with each day. For his own safety had he been placed under heavy doses of sleeping medication and set in a straightjacket just in case. Yet the conditions he was in were far from perfect. The asylum was dirty and rotten like the most of them yet the staff was top notch for some reason. It had been two months since his assault. Ever since he was taken under care of the princess herself, nothing seemed to be working in order to help him. Yet that didn't mean they didn't knew what was wrong with his mind.

They did found something terrible when they were analyzing his earth pony brain for effects of magic. It was a rather farfetched idea that a unicorn would do something like that to an earth pony, but once the tests were done, there was no doubt about it. It was a fact that greatly concerned Celestia herself. She knew that something was lurking in White Tails, something she had never seen.

The royal princess had a small and one way conversation with the broken stallion before she left the cell again with a sigh. The door got closed behind her by nopony else than the doctor. She shook her head to him in a negative manner. “There is possibly nothing that we can do for him. He can’t speak anything else but the warning and lives in a world basically made of his own fears. Any, results, from the lab tests on what this magic might be?” she spoke up to the doctor. Her one magenta red iris looked over him with a gaze of sorrow and pity for the poor Astral.

The doctor shook his head to her words. “It’s, untestable without going crazy yourself. Even with the doses taken from blood inside the skull, my ponies are still suffering delusions of fright,” he replied to her in a quiet tone.

“I see,” said Celestia before the two started to walk down the hallways of the mental asylum. “So there is no hope of making a full on study to this kind of magic. Meaning we can’t trace it. So all we have, is the warning he keeps speaking.” The princess wanted to speak her words further but she was interrupted by a hellish scream. One that went through marrow and bone with ease.

The doctor turned his head around to look at the closed door. He shut his eyes for a moment. The doctor knew more than well that the source of the hellish yell was in fact nopony else but Astral. The stallion who had another delusional attack on his mind.

“We just have to see and wait until the big revelation of this she-pony he keeps speaking about,” the princess continued after the screams had died down or they got out of range. The doctor opened his eyes again. He just gave her a nod to the words. Even in his scientific mind it was possibly the best thing that they could do. Even if it meant they would be waiting for their doom.

~~~~

Two whole months had passed by with ease. The nightmarish unicorn hadn't been sitting still on her throne either. For the mare herself had been testing her magical abilities to limits unseen before. Every single soul that had entered the dungeon received the same kind of therapy without resistance. Only to discover that the effects would be stronger nearly every single week. True mental torture was what they all suffered for her. Though the worst part of it all was the fact that she loved doing it. The powers she had gained, the abilities she controlled, it was all mouthwatering to her.

Nightmare Rarity discovered that her powers were good enough to release an attack that involved multiple ponies. All because of the force she was able to push out if she wanted. It made her feel eerily good about being in control of so much power that coursed through her veins. One day when she was done with her ‘experiments’, the queen would have found herself standing on the balcony of her tower. Her cat-like eyes watched the as sun set itself and the moon rose over the enchanted fog of White Tails.

She was oddly calm for the troubles that had been made. Her entire posture just stood still and not a single fiber moved itself. Though a little bit behind her, hidden on the inside of the queen her chamber, stood the two commanders. They were waiting to hear the relieving words from the mouth of Nightmare Rarity herself. Both Fright and Blood waited in silence to that what came out of her mouth. Little did they knew just what she had planned inside of her devilish mind. What kind of terror she desired to release over the land. With what force she would have made her presence truly known to all the equines in the land. What terror she could strike directly into the hearts, of the princesses, her ‘friends’ and her ‘family’.

While the moon kept on crawling into the skies, the eyes of Nightmare Rarity closed themselves just before a deep sigh was released through her nostrils. With the wind that came by as a gentle breeze were both her mane and tail waving along to her right side. It was something that created quite the serene scene. Though in reality, it was everything but.

“They have been the thorn in my side and the pain in the neck for times longer than I can even remember. Those wretched mares just dumped me for somepony better. Well I’ll show them all, that when you burn your flanks, you’ll have to sit on the blisters,” the mare mumbled to herself. Though she spoke loud enough to let the words be heard by her commanders. “I shall topple you all in fright, make live with the dreams I have lived for so long and enjoy, watching you crumble to dust.”

Without a warning had the queen turned herself around. Her legs began to walk her back into the chambers. Without a sound she passed the two shadow stallions and closed the door behind her before her still gorgeous looking body dropped itself on a crystalline, with velvet cushioned, sofa.

From her position had the two stallions walked up to her though they never spoke a word to her. Mostly because of the fact that they thought she was already having the solution upon the matter. They could only wish that she did that already. “Ponyville, shall, burn,” Nightmare Rarity growled in a sinister tone towards the two of them. That was just before an ominous grin was also given to two shadow stallions. A grin that even gave them the shivers.

~~~~

Yet inside of that same little town that had become almost the prime target for the new Nightmare, inside of the Golden Oak Library to be exact, was Twilight pacing up and down her study room. The thoughts that kept grinding themselves through her head almost became too much. Thoughts about Rarity and how she had been the past two months to begin with. But with so little news of the ivory unicorn, there was nothing else she could do than to give up on the matter.

Twilight Sparkle gave up on one of her best friends in the land. It was a heartbreaking moment for her. It was among the worst that she could possibly do. Yet when she looked through the facts as they were, it all pointed out that that was the best she could do. A sigh could be heard through the room. The coated unicorn walked over to the window and crossed her forelegs on top of the sill, only to rest her head on top of it.

Her eyes kept looking upon the wonderful moon above them for a few seconds. The thoughts kept on going inside of her mind. A mind that eventually would come to a standstill. The eyes were being closed once more. From the corner of the closed eyes were two tiny tears that formed. Tears which began to travel down her face under a soft sob.

Just about the worst possible thing had happened for the unicorn. All she could do in the moment was just cry for her friend and pray in silence that she would come back one day. She didn't care whether it could be in the far future or the next minute, she just didn't care.

The studious unicorn gave herself the time to weep about her friend who had gone without a single trace. Though in the end did her eyes opened themselves again. The violet rims were accompanied by a reddish coloring. They had fallen victim to her own tears. Tears which she wiped from her face and left the study room for that what it was. There was only one desire that she had and that was to go to bed. Twilight wanted to get some rest in the hope to set things right.

When she wandered into the bedroom itself, the darkness had taken it over but her bed was clearly seen in the moonlight. One last sniffle was being made by the unicorn before she dropped her body below the blankets. Twilight just closed her eyes again and started to listen. Listen to the natural sounds of the room, the tree’s leaves rustling in the wind, the soft snoring of her little baby dragon in the basket, the bones inside of her body snapping gently when she kicked her hind legs.

All of the sounds just satisfied her for some reason. They were how they were supposed to be. Though before she knew it, Twilight Sparkle had made the step over into the dream realm.

In the two months of time that had passed by, everypony had slowly given up the hope on the fact that Rarity would ever return to the little town. For nopony believed in the facts that she even would return because she had just vanished from the surface of the land. Nopony had seen her nor could possibly even knew just where the hell she could have been. All options were looked over time and time again before the final verdict came in. One that devastated friend and enemy the like. And that was declare her passed away from life.

~~~~

The following morning had Twilight woken up as every other day. She started to pack some of her gear in order to go on an expedition set out by the princess herself. With the information gotten from the broken Astral had Celestia been wanting to send her most prized pupil out to White Tails. All of it was in an attempt to find just what was going there.

It was a letter that the mulberry unicorn got during her breakfast and needed some time in order to actually truly understand what the royal princess wanted from her. The letter itself ended with a warning that if she went too far into the woods, escape would be near impossible.

The message was an ominous one. But still one that the unicorn needed to heed. Whether she wanted it or not. After her breakfast had been eaten and the gear packed, Twilight would have left the library alone for what it was. She would have gone to the woods of White Tails in the hope to figure out what exactly was happening inside of them. What kind of terror was ready there.

She left her assistant in the building and even in charge of it during her absence. But the baby dragon only had the desire to just take a walk around town to clear his mind on matters he had himself. While the both of them walked right into the sunrise, their mindsets were totally different but their feelings were the same.

~~~~

After her hike had the unicorn managed to reach the woods of White Tails. She was busy setting up her tent. Twilight had both intended and estimated to at least spend one night in the place. The distance between Ponyville and the woods was just too great in order to do what she wanted to do in just one day. Which meant that she had to stay near that cursed forest. A thing she rather didn’t do at all. Though if it would have helped her, she had to do it.

So with everything nice and tidy as she desired it to be did Twilight turn her head over to the fog covered woods. The woods where she simply began to stare over. It was difficult for her to even understand, let alone comprehend, that those woods could cause such massive and devastating fright attacks within anypony. The sights that she saw were mesmerizing. Never did they seem frightening in her eyes. Though just looking at the wonderful formation of the fog wouldn't be able to help her out whatsoever. She needed to do the unthinkable in the matter to get answers. The fact was that Twilight had to go in head first.

The unicorn did a couple of steps forward in order to get a better view on the small land road that she had chosen to travel down into the woods. “So this is where all the rumors about you started, isn't it?” she mumbled to herself. Her head lowered itself and the eyes kept themselves focused upon the tree tops.

With a deep and confident sigh that left through her mouth had Twilight Sparkle made the decision to just go for it and enter the place. Step by step she was brought closer towards the treeline before she was consumed by it. All that was left to be seen from her was her tail before that also disappeared into the fog. She was, on her own inside of the place of horrors.

“Well, this isn't all too bad,” the mare spoke up to herself. Twilight kept following the road as close as she could. “Just some rather thick fog, that’s all.” It was thick without a doubt. Just a couple of hooves could she see in front of her. After that was there just that massive, white wall. A wall that stretched itself all the way around her, closing her in like it was some kind of trap set out for her.

Yet she couldn't help it but to see figures moving through the white wall. Figures that looked like nopony else other than Rarity herself. Though all she caught were the purple mane. “R-Rarity!? Rarity!” the unicorn shouted out to the figure. The urge to leave the path did came to her. But her mind said that she shouldn't leave the path. No matter what, she had to stay on it.

Just like that had the elusive mare been gone. Gone just as mysteriously as she came. Twilight tried to see the purple mane time and time again, but she never caught them again inside of her fields of view. Something that was a true shame for herself. She was that close to finding her friend again and she blew it.

But little did she know that the Rarity she happened to see, was in fact a being named a false shepherd that had morphed itself into Rarity’s previous form of life. A being that was made to lurk unsuspecting ponies right to where the queen desired them to be. The same kind of creature who got Astral when he had given up. Twilight shook her head a couple of times before she called out for the unicorn one last time. She waited eagerly for a response of any kind. One that would never come though. A thing that came setting in as cold ice for her mind.

It was yet another defeat for the marvelous element of magic. She closed her eyes for a moment in order to regain her thoughts. Seconds turned into minutes while she kept on standing inside of the fog. The fog would have done it’s work beautiful as always. Because one of Twilight’s biggest frights was about to become a shocking and terrifying reality.

In the moment that the unicorn had her eyes closed, she could hear the very hoofsteps of a pony she knew all too well. The powerful steps were made by somepony a couple times bigger than her. A being who had carried her through most of her life. “P-Princess?” Twilight dared to speak up just before the sounds of the hooves stopped.

The mulberry unicorn turned herself around and opened her eyes to look at the sight as it laid out before her. Within the fog could the pointy branches of the trees could be seen, but before her stood the imposing royal figure with the wings spread out. Her only visible eye was something that struck terror into Twilight’s to begin with. An eye that was wasn't filled with any form of anger or disgust, but with complete disappointment for something she hadn't even the slightest idea of. “W-What happened, princess?” the mare managed to speak before she released a deep gulp.

Celestia kept on looking at her pupil with that disappointed and sorrowful look. She shook her head towards the unicorn. “You have failed me, Twilight Sparkle. You have failed me on aspects I have lost so many students on. I thought that you, of all the ponies in the land, would be capable of fulfilling the task I had given upon you. But it seems my feelings were wrong. I’m sorry to announce this to you Twilight, but you’re no longer my student,” the princess spoke to her.

Each of those words hit the heart of Twilight like a sledgehammer looking for something to destroy. Each word was powerful enough to shatter a piece of her heart and the tears sprung right into the unicorn her eyes. She had failed the one pony she had looked up more than her own parents and brother. There was nothing she could do except to do that what she never did. Which was to just run away from her troubles. Twilight galloped like the wind before it would be too late.

With the tears that ran down her cheeks, the silent sobbing was something that evoked a lot of powerful emotions inside of the mare. Emotions she had never felt before or at least not in a long time. And that was the feeling of nothing else but pure and utter shame. Twilight felt herself ashamed for her pathetic acts of what? What had she done wrong?

~~~~

It was a simple thought that caused her to come to a standstill near her camp. The princess never told her just what in the name of the land she had ever done wrong and that caused her to become more and more curious. The unicorn cleared her tears from her face and had one look over the fog covered woods as a whole and the ropes were tied together.

“Impossible,” she spoke up. “Completely impossible!” The more she placed her mind behind the matter, the more she realized that she had fallen victim to the terrors of White Tails. “Oh goodness me, this is, this is not good,” said Twilight to herself. She charged up her horn in order to scan her body for any potential interference from other magical sources.

Seconds of scanning would have turned over into mere minutes. The mare waited for the results of the results from the test. But being as impatient as she was, Twilight had summoned an arcane chart of a near incomplete test and looked over it with the greatest set of eyes. Because something on that very chart was not how it was supposed to be. Something on it, was actually right off of it. “Everything is normal, except the brain activity! It, it looks like it was in a sleeping state but I was clearly awake wasn't I? This, this data has to go to the princesses right at once, no question.”

Yet the time had progressed into the night and the best that Twilight could do at the moment was to look for an inn or something and write her letter to the princess with her findings. As much as she wanted to investigate the place more, she had nothing in her magical arsenal that would actually be able to just protect her from the state of mind.

~~~~

Back in Ponyville laid Spike on the couch with a book before his eyes. A small story that had sparked his imagination in order to sail to worlds as he imagined them. It was a welcome change of pace from the facts as they had played out before him. Because he had done something in the absence of Twilight. Something he would have never thought about doing whatsoever. He had let things go.

To be a bit more specific: Rarity.

Spike would have traveled to the nearest lake that laid by Ponyville during the afternoon. His eyes just stared over the calm waters for what seemed to be hours. Hours of just thinking about the unicorn he fell in love with once he had seen her for the first time. His fingers formed themselves into a fist and he started to whisper inside of it. Words of love and futures that would never come were spoken inside of it and the tears had grown below his very eyes. And then the moment was just there.

The wind picked up from behind him, carrying the waters away from the beach and Spike give a last kiss inside of the fist. “Goodbye, my beauty queen,” he whispered to himself before the fist was opened again. In the palm of his purple scaled hand there burned a small fire. A little fire that was filled with his words and memories of the unicorn seamstress.

Spike closed his eyes for a moment before he simply let go of the flame, for it to be carried with the wind to places far away and perhaps better times in the future. He had officially let go of his beloved crush in the dragonian style. Something he never had desired to do, not at his age.

It was rough for him without a doubt. Though the facts as they were presented for him were harder to deny. It was without a doubt the best thing he could have done for her. But there was one memory that he would always cherish inside of his mind. One memory of the mare that was never allowed to be released inside of the little flame. The memory that would stick with him, was the one of the moment he first saw her during the preparation for the summer sun celebration.

The book was laid aside and the baby dragon just started to walk over to the bathroom in order to prepare himself to go to bed. Whether it would be a good night’s rest or a night filled with nothing but nightmares, he couldn't and wouldn't dare to tell himself.

All he could do was to lay inside of his basket and curl up before closing the eyes. Which was exactly the thing that he did. If there was any way to make a difference on the matter as it had played out, he would have taken it without a doubt. But the situation as it was and nothing could be changed. A fact that he knew that all too well.

~~~~

Twilight had found herself an inn where she could stay for the night. She found herself in one of the few private rooms while writing a letter to the princess. The arcane chart of her brain's activity laid next to her. She hoped that it would reveal some kind of explanation to what was going on deep inside of the woods of White Tails and its mysterious source.

Her violet rimmed eyes looked over the letter for one last time before she rolled it up with a deep exhale. With one last charge was it sent away to the royal herself. All that Twilight could do from that moment onward was to just stay put and return to the library at first light of the new day. The mulberry unicorn laid her head on the pillow while her body could be found on the mattress. Soon enough had she too gone back to the realm of dreams.

The natural sounds of the inn slowly died down while the evening passed by. The night entered which went accompanied with nothing but silence. A pleasant silence for Twilight but one that also haunted her to her very soul for some reason. It was because of the silence, that she was brought back to the moment she thought to have seen Rarity. It would be a moment she would never speak about with Spike unless it would be really needed. White Tails wasn’t what it seemed to be, not anymore at least. Something laid indeed lurking within the borders, but what?

Twilight kept on sleeping for the rest of the night. Though the time outside simply kept on going forward. It was heading to the next morning with a speed like every other night.

~~~~

In the castle of Canterlot was Celestia reading the letter over and over as her eyes also kept looking at the chart that was provided. She had never seen such magical powers in any matter she was involved with. It was even something new for her and that always meant the worst of things. The princess of the sun had not a single clue what she could do with the situation, except to run a few more tests on the shattered mind of Astral. She wanted to see what his condition really was. Yet she feared the worst if such loads of magic would be given to the delicate brain by an outside source.

“You caught me between two fires of Tartarus, my faithful student. There is little that I know and can possibly do in this case when it comes down to it,” mumbled Celestia to herself. The alicorn stood up and just started to walk through her chambers with a frown on her face. Countless thoughts ran through her mind, yet none could filed as a spark of brilliance.

She needed some fresh air in order to clean her mind on the matter and perhaps get a couple of new insights on how everything worked. Thus she did the only thing her mind could think off and she spread her wings in order to take off for a long flight over the land and its mighty cities.

~~~~

While the celestial princess soared over the woods of Everfree, from the balcony of her tower had Nightmare Rarity almost a front row seat at the play of light in the skies. She grinned towards it like a devil. “Oh how easy it is going to be to just blast you out of the skies right now and take your place. But I shall contain myself for a change, Celestia, just for you and this once,” she spoke in a sickening giggle. The head was shaken a couple of times. The power that was surging through the body of the Nightmare was something she could barely contain herself. Though she just loved it with every single fiber of her body. The raw power that went through her managed to tingle every bit of her body.

The queen turned herself around and left the balcony for what it was. The mare would have made the descend from the tower. She had a place to go where she hoped to find the right tools for the job that would be at hoof. With a calm pace would Nightmare Rarity have gone down the staircase before she found herself right inside of her throne room.

Her cat-like eyes looked over the darkened room to the very place just behind the throne. She glanced towards the banner of the ancient unicorns. Nightmare Rarity stepped towards it before her horn charged itself up and levitated the thing up to reveal a doorway. A doorway that would be leading her straight into the mythical library of Starswirl the Bearded. The very place where she had learned how to use and control her powers originally within.

Of course it was a huge gamble for her to see if there would be anything useful left. Literally anything could be stored inside of that place. The queen could be sitting on a ticking time bomb and not even realizing the terrible facts as they were laid out before her. But not that it truly was a problem for her to begin with. The mare was more interest in the what other books about fear there possibly would be hidden inside of the walls.

Though most importantly for her was just how she would be giving Ponyville the biggest scare of its entire existence. How would she announce her presence to the wretched little town without physically showing herself? That was the question she wanted to have answered in every possibly way. An answer of which she knew it laid within the hidden library.

“None of you disturb me unless the prisoners are getting away, am I clear?” she spoke over to Fright and Blood who stood at the end of the staircase. The two of them nodded to her words. They then just disappeared once again into the shadows. They would just slither away like snakes and go on with their daily duties. They didn't even question just what she was going to do inside of the place. It wasn’t much of their concern. At least not that they showed of it.

Both of the shadow stallions had turned themselves over into the clouds of shadow and were simply hovering through the courtyard of the dark crystal domain where they kept an eye on all the other events that were going on. Yet they couldn't help it but to fall back inside of their own scheming nature to throw over their current queen and become kings themselves. Though with the powers she had gotten, that would prove to be much more of a problem so they could only drop their thoughts and do as they were told.

Fright kept a close eye on almost every other force that was hidden inside the shadows created by the walls of the domain before his ‘eyes’ turned themselves up towards the skies. More specifically, they turned towards the very moon. A grin formed itself on his face, one that was just this gap in his fibers. “A thousand years on top of there and not being able to succeed. Yet here you are, among us. My queen,” where the words that the force mumbled to himself before his eyes lowered themselves and he turned himself back around.

Only to see the four savages to come right at him with a hungry look in their eyes.

08 The oncoming storm

“So, Astral Chrome,” the doctor spoke to the immobilized stallion with a worried expression upon his face. “I do suppose that that is all for today.” The stallion turned himself around. Without a further word spoken had he left the cell. When he made his departure, the door fell shut behind him. Astral was left once again all alone, inside of his cell where he would do what he had done for the past months. which happened to be nothing and wait. He would wait for the inevitable to come for him.

Yet the doctor on the other end had his mind filled with other troubles. It didn't matter what he tried to do to the poor soul, there wasn’t anything that seemed to make a dent in the metal plate that was placed over his skull. Not a normal word appeared to be leaving his mouth besides the warning. The good doctor was getting sick and tired of it. He was almost at the point of giving up.

Grumbles of anger left the mouth in whispers as he walked passed the cells of other inmates but he never gave them any eye. Astral Chrome was his pride, his very own Moby Dick to a certain degree. The doctor would do almost everything to make sure that the stallion would be placed on the right path. Yet whatever he tried, nothing seemed to be working. It already had led him to a mental breakdown of his own. The cracks only seemed to grow over time, instead of healed up.

The doctor walked through the hallways and back to his office within the dark asylum. With the lights turned off for the night, the stallion and staff only had the moon and stars as their light sources. Something that did create both a wonderful and utterly uncomfortable play of lights in the cells and windows. Yet the stallion didn't seem to be noticing them. Not anymore at least.

He heard the groans of other inmates as well as their screams for both help and insanity but not even those were heard. He cared little for them all at the moment he was in. He had struck a dead end and he knew that all too well. But was too thick in the head to admit it.

The stallion had entered his office. He first took a good look around under some rather discouraging words. “I just hope she didn't change anything.” His eyes went all over the wooden walled and floored room. Over the couple of dossier cabinets filled with the files of his many patients and diagnostics. Than it was up to some prizes that stood on the top of the cabinets, accompanied by some more personal belongings.

Though the thing that he was most looking forth to, happened to be his desk. Despite it being a major mess, the doctor always did seem to have managed to get his way around and find that what he needed. Even though the cleaning lady had been at work in his office, everything still seemed to be in the order as he left it for his two hour during appointment with the broken Astral.

The stallion dropped himself in his chair with a loud moan after he had dropped the files on his desk like trash. The forelegs were brought over to his eyes were in order to just rub them. Another groan was released by his mouth before the hooves were brought over to the desk and he just fixed his position back behind the desk. “What am I going to have to do to make him..?” he questioned himself. He rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat a bit.

There was only one candle that acted as the source of light inside of the room. One that was magically enhanced. It would never lose power, it wouldn't even burn out. An everlasting candle was among one of the best things he had ever come across and to that very day still made great use from.

~~~~

Seconds turned into minutes as those turned into about a set of forty five before there was a knock on his open door. “Doctor?” a feminine sounding voice echoed through his ears. That little word alone caused him to peel his eyes away from the documents and over his brown framed glasses.

In his eyes he caught a nurse he knew rather well. Perhaps a little bit too well even but that was up for debate. The files were dropped down to the desk and the glasses removed from his eyes while he leaned back into the chair. “Something the matter, nurse Vision?” he replied in his deep tone. It wasn't the world’s best thing for him to be interrupted the way he was. Better yet, it annoyed him more than anything known in the world.

“Please doctor, call me Mythic. But to answer the question you asked, I was simply wondering if everything is alright with you,” Mythic Vision replied to him with a small giggle.

The stallion tilted his head to the left side while he leaned a bit more forth in the chair. “Are you accusing me that I’m going mad myself, nurse? Because if that is what you are thinking inside of that mind of yours, I highly suggest to rethink it,” the doctor said to her.

Mythic Vision on the other end just shrugged it off with a giggle. She leaned against the side of the doorway and shook her head a little bit. “I’m suggesting everything but, doctor. I’m not accusing you from anything else besides a hard worker. But don’t work too hard on your patient. I have seen you wearing off,” said the nurse in her defense.

“That’s because I can’t get through to him. I have tried everything in my might to crack him open and see what his brain looks like. But I just can’t get through that first layer,” the doctor replied with a strange calm. Yet despite his calm tone, there was the sheer bitterness of his failures that weighed down on him. Something the nurse could see almost clear as day. “Anyway, continue on with your round would you? I’ll be doing a couple more things here and then I’m off to home.”

Even though she could only pray he spoke the truth, the nurse knew all too well that he would do pretty much the opposing from what he said. “If you say so, doctor,” Mythic replied in a truly calm voice. She turned herself around and left him to continue working. The doctor himself turned his eyes over to the raging little flame of the candle and found himself caught by its motions. Motions that were caught by one particular other stallion in the whole asylum.

~~~~

Behind the steel door and resting against the wall while being inside a straightjacket had Astral Chrome tried to get some sleep. Though he couldn't help himself but to smell something. The stallion couldn't place just what it happened to be or where it did came from. The dulled out, almost gray looking rims of the stallion revealed themselves to the world and he started to look around in his cell.

The scents became stronger with almost every single turn he made. Then he caught it in the corner of his eyes. The lights that were flickering like, like flames almost. Astral gathered the strength to turn his head over to the side. With his weakened eyes did he notice that the lights came from under the tiny gap of door. The sight could only have meant one thing in his mind.

Astral Chrome pushed himself further up against the wall as he simply feared for his life. The lights and scent were getting closer and closer to him while the screams of his fellow inmates pierced through the airs. There wasn't any doubt anymore. They were being burned alive and there was no hope for him. Nopony would come for him, he would be left behind as if nothing had ever happened.

A tear had started to stream down his cheeks just before the plumes of the thick black smoke entered his cell and the two far corners erupted out in actual flames. Screams couldn't be left from his mouth as it felt that it was taped off. All he could do was shiver and feel the heat of the situation he was in. His life was over and he knew it. The broken down stallion would be nothing more but a pile of burned meat. In his eyes could the reflection of the raging flames being seen. Even though the walls were made out of the finest stone, it burned like an inferno.

It was in the smoke that he managed to see something. Almost as if it was forming something inside of it. Astral shook his head heavily. He knew just who would be coming out of it. He refused to watch over the reigning chaos. Though with his life on the line, not looking at the fires was something easier said than done.

Thus he forced his eyes to look back at the fires and the smoke only to see, her. The nightmarish queen herself had appeared before him. The very pony who had tortured him for so long had managed to come into his cell. She would be the one that would give the final blow.

“She’s coming,” he whispered to himself at first. While the second passed by, that little whisper got repeated time and time again. All the way up to the point he was shouting it out. All while the smoking figure looked over him with the most sickening delight and grin upon her face.

“She’s coming!” the stallion then screamed on the top of his lungs. After which he erupted out in the most insane sounding laughter that he had ever given to anypony and even any being. A laughter that started out as this eerie, near silent one before it even louder than the crackling fires.

And it was during that laughter of utter insanity that the door was flung open. Or better said: blown off completely off of its hinges. What followed was a column of fire that just raced into the cell. It was a thing that caused the stallion to scream in pure fear already, but the final blow still had to come. It wouldn't be something pretty at all.

The eyes of Astral looked over to the image of the nightmarish queen and the horror could be seen. She had transformed her mouth into an enormous jaw. One which stood wide open and was even smoking more of the black plumes to suffocate the poor stallion. Sadly enough for him, it wasn't the only thing that was planned out for him.

For the last thing that he would see in his life was the queen walking up to him while the jaw closed itself it in order to form a sickening grin across her lips. The gem on top of her horn was placed in his neck and even went through the skin like an injection needle. Then he felt it from the spot where the gem it started to travel all over his body. That feeling of utter immobilization. Almost as if he became nothing else but cold stone itself.

~~~~

“Quick! Get the doctor, we need him here, now!” one of the nurses yelled. Another stallion left the cell to carry out the command. “Come on, come on, come on,” the unicorn nurse muttered as she tried everything within her might to get a heart operational again. “Don’t you dare to die on me!” Next to her laid an injection needle. One filled with a fluid that was supposed to calm him down. But it seemed like it had given him the eternal rest instead.

“Make way, make way!” the doctor spoke up before he managed to enter the cell that held the broken Astral Chrome. His eyes looked through the glasses to the terrible scene of the stallion lying in a near lifeless against the wall and could only ask just one question. “What happened here?”

The stallion who had gone to get him explained the events that they had heard, before they rushed inside to help him. The doctor nodded understandable to them. He removed the glasses from his nose with care and gave off the words he rather didn't spoke. “And so it seems, that mister Chrome has passed away because of his own fears. Nurse, there’s nothing we can do for him anymore except to pray that he has gone to a place better.”

All of the ponies held a minute of silence for the passed away pony. The doctor dared to look out the barred window afterwards. What he saw there, was not something he liked. For a massive storm front seemed to have left Everfree or perhaps even White Tails. It was slowly drifting towards Ponyville. But it wasn't a matter to which he could focus his attention on. He had his own reports to write and funeral to be held. “Let’s, let’s follow the procedures, shall we?” the doctor spoke up after he had laid his eyes back upon the deceased pony.

~~~~

Rainbow Dash was among the first, if not the first to have entered the clouds that hovered above the little town. She was of course taken by surprise that something of that size had managed to come over the quiet town. Her wings had set everything on everything in order to just get rid of the clouds. Though she found herself almost in the midst of it instead.

While she was deep inside of the clouds, there were whispers of fright heard in her ears. All it took was one flash of lightning to startle her. While the clouds lit up from the lights, they revealed a sight that Rainbow rather hadn’t seen at all. A sight that was the face of the elusive queen of fear, right inside the clouds. A face that even seemed to be made out of the fluffy material.

Rainbow gained the feeling of the fact that she shouldn't be there under any given circumstances. Which resulted in her just taking her leave. There was something inside of that pack of clouds that was everything but good for her. The powerful wings begun to soar the body down to the ground. There she could only watch as the storm kept on rolling in the wind. Or by itself as there was little to no wind up there.

“It’s gonna be a lot of explaining to them,” the pegasus muttered to herself once she stood safely on the ground. She had her eyes turned over to the clouds with a shady look. The mare just couldn't believe that she was unable to move the clouds away from the town. But that wasn't the worst feeling she had. Shame was of course a high price to pay without a doubt. Though it were the feelings of both fright and a faint recognition that haunted her mind.

Inside of that same mind was the image she had seen inside of the cloud. That massive head and the holes for eyes. All of the sudden it made a click to somepony she knew rather well. The mare got a shock through her body that caused her to shiver like mad for a second or two. Her eyes closed themselves and when they opened, they were staring at the ground as she spoke her words in a whisper. “Impossible, that that, that that was Rarity.”

~~~~

It seemed to be rather unbelievable, but the facts were there. For Rainbow had seen the face of the nightmarish queen. A queen that stood by the edge of the Everfree forest. Her and her commanders were looking over the clouds rolling in the skies. They lit up every so often from a lightning flash. The mare chuckled to herself while she kept on looking with a sickening wonder in her eyes. “They can bet on their lives that tonight’s just the start. Once they bled to their deaths, we’ll tear Canterlot apart!” Nightmare Rarity spoke up to herself but loud enough for the shadow stallions to hear it.

“Heh, that rhymes.” Blood replied in a whispering chuckle. Just before the rumbles of the thunder could be heard in their ears.

“It’s gonna start!” Fright spoke up in an utmost delight. And he had all of the reasons to be happy, because their plan had been in the make for months by then. A plan that was just filled with everything that the queen could think of in order to get her so much wanted revenge on the foals that just left her.

~~~~

Twilight was in the Golden Oak library and she watched over the skies with a sigh. She turned herself away from the window. Something was troubling her mind deep. The mare had not even the slightest of clues how and what she could be doing on that evening. The storm had taken her out of her concentration and the sheer will to continue on with her work wasn't present anymore.

Spike had already gone to bed and it seemed to be like that that was the best that the mulberry unicorn could do as well. She allowed herself a yawn before she walked up the stairs. Her heading was set straight for the bedroom to get some of her much needed and beloved sleep. “It’s just a little thunderstorm, Twily, no need to worry,” the mare mumbled up. She dropped her body in the bed and turned around for a bit.

~~~~

Yet that particular thunderstorm was everything but little. While the rumbles had started to increase, it were the flashes of lightning that got multiplied at an exponential rate. It was about to happen. The energy that was stored inside of the cloud would be released over the entire town. Nightmare Rarity, Shadowfright and Shadowblood were looking from their location as the first bolt actually went down. One that was soon followed up by another and then another one.

It took seconds for the bolts to form and be released over the town. Though the flashes themselves were the true focus of the attention. They weren't the usual white color of electricity. Instead they had a vague hint of blue to them. A blue color that was produced whenever the unicorn queen herself released her fear indulging magic right into the skull of a pony.

That was pretty much the entire plan. The lightning carried the magic down to the ground. It would then travel all over the town before it would its own way straight into the heads of literally every single resident. Mass hysteria was something that would develop itself over the course of the next few days inside of the town without a single doubt. Fears and horrors would become a deadly reality for all of the residents. Which was then much to the delight of the queen.

It would be a slow process though, much like the fog itself. It was actually the plan of Blood to place some form of delay on the magic, before it would actually make ponies live in their very own alternative universe. That way it was made almost certain that the storm wouldn't be associated with the attack. At least not until all hell had broken loose inside of the town.

The three kept on watching the show of lightning. It was strange that a couple of the residents would have joined them from the comforts of their houses. One of them happened to be nopony else then Rainbow Dash. She had returned to her cloud palace and was looking over the storm with that same shady look. The lightning and thunder were only part of the whole thing though. She was waiting for something else entirely as well. She waited for the rain that always would come. That was what she was expecting.

“Can’t have a storm without rain, now can you?” the mare spoke up to herself. Rainbow stood before the window with her wings spread a bit. She had tucked them against her body before, but it not that much of an effect. They would spring open by the first sign of thunder behind her anyway. It was a natural reaction for the pegasus race. And one that took true mastery of the wings to prevent from happening. A level of self-control that Rainbow lacked. It wasn't something she was truly ashamed of though. Even Spitfire from the Wonderbolts didn't had it. Only a very select few pegasi had such control over their body and wings throughout history.

~~~~

Lightning and thunder followed each other up like Tartarus had come over to the grounds above. Spike managed to sleep through it thanks to whatever reason. Though Twilight was woken up by it. The unicorn found herself looking at the lightning from her study room with a set of interested eyes. Something inside of the violent weather had gotten her attention.

Her violet eyes looked over the places where the curving bolts emerged and where they traveled towards. But it didn't seem to be following any pattern she had learned from Rainbow. That little fact alone proved that it wasn't like any thunderstorm created up in Cloudsdale. Thus making it a rogue storm that came from no place other than Everfree itself. It were those kind of storms that happened to be a lot more dangerous, for they traveled all by themselves. There could be a hurricane waiting to be released for all she knew. A rogue storm was unpredictable.

“This is not good,” the unicorn mare mumbled to herself. Twilight took her eyes off of the skies and laid them on the insides of her study room. The mare glanced over all of her belongings in the light that was created by the flashes. Though the shadows they created managed to form some kind demonic-like beasts for the split seconds they were there.

It was a little something that caught the mare off guard and she shook her head a couple of time. “Well that’s something new,” Twilight replied to the lights with a giggle before she allowed herself to fall in the chair and leaned a little bit backward before the forelegs were placed right behind her head.

~~~~

The minutes passed by before the storm of just lightning and thunder would have started to dissolve. It would dissolve into the vast nothingness it once originated from. At the first signs from it had the three beings of nightmares made a turnaround and returned to the dark crystal domain in the woods of White Tails. Their job was done for the moment. The waiting game had just begun.

Nightmare Rarity, Shadowfright and Shadowblood were all three as silent as the night. They didn't want to give away their position to anypony who could be wandering the woods. The two shadow stallion already morphed back into the clouded shape and started to hover ahead of their queen. A queen who on her own merged within the shadows by submerging herself within them. After which she simply slithered across the ground. It almost looked like a dark snake that was passing by if it would be seen by any eyes of a normal pony.

The trio of shadows traveled through the woods of Everfree towards the fog covered woods that were their domain. None of them had any trouble actually finding their way home. It only took them a few minutes of both slithering and floating to reach the front gate of the domain. A gate that always stood open in case some new test subjects had dared to make a wander into the lovely woods. The queen wasn’t too worried about enemy forces being able to draw close in either.

When the three of them had reached the courtyard of the place, the two clouds of shadow merged back into their stallion shaped size. The queen herself had to reemerge from the depths she had traveled into. The mare merged back into the physical world a bit differently than anypony would have expected.

First did her forelegs set themselves out of the shadow and unto the dark crystal, before the rest of her body followed up. Until she stood safe and sound upon the ground. A strange substance was dripping off of her body. It caused her to shudder before a gentle roar was released into the air. The substance itself seemed to be having the abilities of black tar, without the fact that it was boiling hot. It just streamed slowly from her body like it was some sort of slime, yet it didn't seem to be leaving any kind of trail behind it.

The substance was simply known as a little something that was called nothing else but liquid shadow by her and the nightmare forces. Something that was a side effect caused every single time she allowed her slender body to be submerged into the depths that is the shadows. The roar itself died down after the last bits of the stuff had made it to the ground. With a growl in her tone she gave her eyes a shady look over the surface of the domain.

Everything seemed to be in order and thus the queen straightened herself a bit again before she walked towards the tower in order to get a goodnight’s sleep. For days she had been running without any form of sleep to make sure that her plan would be simply perfect and with the delay set on the magic, there was time. Little did she knew, that another dark force also happened to be lurking around the foot of the fog. A force that was literally dying to meet her.

~~~~

The nightmarish queen had laid her down on the velvet cushioned sofa. Her hoof went through the mane of one of her four savaged shadow stallions that laid before her like a dog. The creature made a couple of satisfied noises as she kept petting him. It almost seemed to be like the pure definition of relaxation for the queen herself. She had all of the time that the world could possibly offer to her and she was accompanied by her ‘pets’.

While the one laid before the sofa had the other three taken their places as her guard in the shadows close by her bed. They were actually hidden inside the wall itself, watching over every single inch of the room if there would be any kind of threat coming their or their queen’s way. The ultimate personal guard for the nightmarish queen was what they were. She loved every single second of it.

Yet with the time passing by like every other day, she needed her sleep and the grind of days wasn't really helping her to stay awake any longer. A long yawn left through the mouth of the unicorn just before she stopped petting and stood up.

The stop caused the savaged stallion to look up to her before he made some room for her to move. What happened next was the very fact that the unicorn dropped herself on the literally queen sized, posted bed without a care in the world. Everything was going according to plan so far. Before Nightmare Rarity knew it, she had fallen asleep with the blankets half over her body.

The eyes of the one physical savaged stallion looked over to the bed. Carefully had he walked closer in order to cover his queen fully in the blankets. Once he had done that, he too submerged himself into the shadows to join his three brethren into the endless watch.

The soft snoring of the queen filled the area and the four savages simply continued to look over the darkened room as well as the blanket covered body of the unicorn. Their sharp eyes were looking over every single inch of her but they could feel that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong but they didn't see the how’s, the what’s and the why’s.

~~~~

There had been a dark force that had tailed around by the foot of the forest. A force that was rushing itself as a dark cloud towards the domain. The fog didn't do it anything whatsoever and even the false shepherds looked at the cloud with raised eyebrows. Trouble it was for certain, but there was nothing they could do against it. Nor any other force inside of the domain for that matter.

Once the black cloud had reached the entrance of the place, it continued to shoot itself forward and made a straight turn up into the skies. Shadowfright was the one who stood on watch and noticed how it climbed against the tower with the great ease. Yet he had not even a single clue of that what it possibly could be. None of the forces could have actually known it as it was just, cloud.

“...Can it be that that was the cloud which was used to grew the storm with?” Fright mumbled into himself. He shook his head a few times. He both believed and disbelieved the facts as they were given to him. While the possibility was there that it indeed happened to the cloud they used, something else inside of him told him it was everything but. He was frozen and just couldn't move another step into any direction. Not a single idea of what he could possibly do came up to him while his eyes simply kept on watching the racing cloud.

A cloud that stood on the balcony and managed to push its way through the small openings of the doors and windows. Thus it had gained access right into the room of the queen. That action triggered the four savages to jump out of the shadows and assumed an attacking stance against the intruder. Their growls were loud and intimidating but did nothing to the cloud while an all too familiar face revealed itself. The face of a stallion who was just as old as the original Nightmare. A face that Rarity had seen once before and didn't had the desire for to witness it for a second time.

The face inside of the cloud simply looked over the savages with a face of utter disinterest and turned itself over to the bed in which the queen laid peacefully and deeply asleep. “Ahhh, there she is,” a deep, male sounding voice spoke with a small echo in the tone. “Time for you to wake up. And to do it, right now.”

Almost as if he spoke a command over her did it happen. The mare that laid under the blanket moaned and groaned a little bit before the eyes were opened and the disorientation began. “W-What in the name..?” she spoke up under a yawn. The body was risen up on the bed itself and she caught something unusual in her eyes. Something that shouldn’t have been there.

The scenery as it had laid out before her was strange. The queen caught the four savages surrounding a cloud of darkness with a face inside of it. It was something that made her quickly to realize that she could be dreaming, but there was one thing she could differentiate better than anypony in the domain. And that was judging whether something was real life, or a dream. Though from the feelings it was definitely real life.

The unicorn looked over the face inside of the cloud a little bit better with a brain that was still half asleep. Though the realization just rushed through her. She knew exactly who it was and didn't even dare to believe what she saw. “That’s just impossible. You, you were dead!” she spat out.

“Speak my name, child. And we shall discuss the reasoning of why I’m here.”

Nightmare Rarity blinked a couple of times with her eyes before the head was given a rather violent shake in order to get everything straight in the upper chambers. “King... Sombra,” she eventually spoke up. One of her forehooves brought itself over to the side of her head. “How, and why? Why shouldn't I just rip you to shreds right here and now? You failed twice, third time’s the charm they say but I don’t intent to make that happen.”

“Let’s just skip the formalities and go straight down to business, shall we?” Sombra replied in a chuckle. He made the dare to move himself just a little bit closer towards the queen her face. Something that the savages didn't appreciate at all. “I want to strike an alliance between the two of us so we can take over the Crystal Empire and rule over it as a king, and queen.”

The words that were spoken were tempting for certain for the nightmarish queen. Even before her transformation she had always loved the looks of the empire. Ruling over it would certainly give her advantages unseen before. Though there was only one small problem with the entire plan. He was a ghost of yesterday. A spectral being that couldn't be chased by her doggish guards. It certainly placed him in the higher position and the unicorn knew that all too well, even though she was still half drunk of sleep herself.

“Your words have sparked my interest for certain, king. However, I’m afraid that I have to be telling you that I am going to decline your offer on the sheer basis that I’m not interested in an alliance between the two of us,” Nightmare Rarity answered him in a cold tone.

Those very words crushed all of the dreams and hopes that the ancient unicorn king had to regain his land. But it wouldn't be something that he let go unpunished. Because right after she spoke her words, the two of them emerged themselves into a heated argument filled with hatred towards one another. They both knew exactly what was at stake and Sombra even seemed to be knowing just who the queen used to be.

Arguments of reasons why it would be the best for the two of them to join up with one another were spoken by Sombra, while Nightmare Rarity just crushed them with words of her own. Everything he said towards her, was returned almost instantly and vice versa. The two simply weren't able to come to terms that would satisfy both parties. The heat walked up so much even, that the unicorn was getting more than enough of his pathetic little games and almost released the order to tear him to nothing but shreds.

~~~~

Her mouth was standing open for a mere second before she glanced into the eyes of the landless king. All of the sudden was there the realization that came to her mind. He was a ghost of yesterday. Attacking him would most likely have ended up with two of the four savages pouncing into her after their jump. A thing which she couldn’t use at all in the moment.

With the mouth closed again, there was a deep sigh released by Sombra through his nostrils and small plumes of dark smoke left them. “So this is where our talking has been leading up? You’re a pathetic little queen, Nightmare Rarity. Nothing but a hoax waiting to die out and be buried under a pile of nothing,” Sombra replied to her, taunting her even further into the madness of his own.

Yet his words were something that almost fell into the wrong gullet for the mare. She opened her own mouth again in order to speak the words she desired. “Do you want to know, just how I got the nickname, the Queen of Fear?” she hissed to him before her horn charged itself up. If there was one thing she knew that would even hit the spectral ghost, it would be her magic as she knew that every being had fear for something, or somepony.

While the charge was being released from her horn, the king saw it too late. He was unable to avoid it and thus got the full load of it over himself. The moans and groans of the cloud were made before he turned himself back over to face the nightmarish queen. “What have you done, witch?!” he snarled out towards her before her skin started to boil like it was put into a pot of boiling water. “W-What are you, doing!?” The scene alone made him take a couple steps back as his eyes never seemed to be tearing themselves away from her.

Her skin continued to boil before the pimples of skin just erupted out with blood. There where the skin used to be, could the purple scales of his biggest fear be seen. “No! He’s, he’s supposed to be dead!” the ancient king shouted just before the true revelation was made to him. A revelation that would make sure, he would get away from her land.

Without a warning but with a roar of a dragon turned the queen into a purple scaled, green spiked dragon that kept growing in size until it had reached the ceiling with its back. His worst fear was looking him straight in the eyes for mere seconds. Then the jaw of the creature opened itself to reveal thousands of sharp, serrated fangs that were just ready to consume him on the very spot. Though to make matters even worse, Sombra was also given a look to deep inside of the dragon’s throat and noticed the light of a green fire traveling through it.

That could only mean just one more thing to him. The cloud just made sure it got out of the way before the green fires of hell itself were released. He needed to get out as the heat became him too much of the good stuff and just slithered back to the balcony. A balcony off of which he launched himself like a rocket.

In the bedroom had the queen never moved a single muscle during the event. She smirked towards his departure with great pleasure. “And good riddance to you,” she almost spoke with glee once he was truly gone. “You four, keep watch in physical form and make sure he doesn't return to finish the, job, shall we say.” The nightmarish unicorn then dropped her head back on the pillow. She wanted to fall asleep again for the second time that night.

~~~~

At the foot of the woods, the very place where Sombra had landed, he watched over the forest with a feeling of disgust in his mouth. But he had found himself in a unique position. He knew exactly who the queen happened to be. Something that his mortal enemies didn't. He knew the fight between them wasn't over yet, Sombra would see himself as the victor over the queen of fear herself, but in order to do that he needed aid. His eyes tore themselves away from the woods and focused themselves upon the castle against the mountain in the far distance. “The royals of Equestria...”

09 The nightmares begin

The defeated unicorn king had recovered from his frights and fears of the one dragon who had managed to beat him. Yet he kept on hovering before the woods of White Tails. His eyes looked over fog covered terrain while a stare of death that could be found deep within them. He had grown a desire in the last few minutes to just watch the utter annihilation of the queen for rather obvious reasons. Yet there was nothing that he could do, because he was nothing more but a spectral. But the burning passion in his darkened heart roared like the fires of the sun.

Anger raced through all his veins while the desires followed it everywhere. Though he couldn't just go about and make any kind of bold decisions just yet. Something like that would probably have ended up in his defeat once more. There was of course the plan to head on charge her and try to manipulate the forces below the queen to only obey him. It was a plan that required timing and that wasn't something he had standing on his side. A growl of insanity and anger was left through the hovering entity that Sombra was. He didn't just pace up and down on his legs though, instead he floated close to the ground while doing so.

It drove him even further over the edge of insanity then he already had been. It wouldn't do the stallion any form of good. Growls and whispers of hatred would have left the mouth of the once so powerful king. Whispers that spoke of plans rather left unknown to other ears were send into the air. Yet there was one that caused him to just stand still and look over the forest with slits of eyes. Something inside of him had been triggered. Something that made him think with a lot more care.

“Yes...” Sombra whispered to himself in a soft tone. What followed was a massive and rather ominous looking grin that formed itself below the muzzle. “Crystal.” It seemed as if all of the sudden there was a bulb of light that was turned on inside of his mind. The fallen king set his spectral hooves on the ground for the first time since his escape.

His smoking eyes continued to look over the woods with a grin before he repeated that one little word again in an even deeper sounding tone. “Crrrystals.” It was just clear to him right there and then. One massive assault against the queen of fear was probably all he could do. Her home had been made out of the same stuff as his and he could manipulate that. So what withheld him from doing the same act again?

A barrier was what stopped him. The white barrier of fog. The sheer amounts of magic that he felt surging through it were on levels he would have expected from one of the three princesses. Not from a unicorn who simply had grown in size. “Bah! This isn't going to be working!” Sombra shouted to himself. He took his eyes away from the fog and laid them upon the one place. He never had expected himself to end up looking at that. The place was one he had gazed over before, just after the events had happened. Perhaps the last place where he ever wanted to be.

“No,” he whispered into the thin air. His eyes were locked upon the only castle he could see. The castle of Canterlot, the very place where his arch-enemies resided. It was a place in which he couldn't just walk in like any other pony, they would capture the king right on his hooves even in his seemingly harmless spectral form. Yet he had something that they obviously didn't have.

“None of them had come to here before… None of them, know just what terrorizes these woods,” the king spoke up in his deep tone. The eyes blinked a bit and he saw the window of opportunity within it. He knew exactly who, why and what was going on in the woods. He could be the key that the royals would have needed into the assault. If they were planning any to begin with.

Though that triggered another thought inside of his mind. They didn't respond all too kindly either when he had conquered the Crystal Empire. That led to his original defeat and thus he had to lock himself away for years and centuries. On the day of his return had one baby dragon prevented him from becoming the almighty king once again. A baby dragon out of all things possible.

Both of those defeats weighed heavy on his mind and the more he thought about them, the more Sombra came to the realization that it would be foolish to go to them. “Knocking at their door, makes me look like a dog with its legs hanging. Making it look like I admit defeat! But there is one thing, I shall never admit. That thing is, my own, defeat,” the unicorn king roared into the air before a powerful sprout of magic was released into the nightly skies as a powerful blast of black lightning.

It was something that certainly cleared out the mind of the stallion before he started to wheeze deeply to himself. The powers of his magic, had drained the spectral form even more than it originally should have been doing. “Let, them, rot,” spoke Sombra through the wheezing of his nostrils. “Let, let them burn in the fires of Tartarus!”

Sombra wouldn't even consider it anymore. He wouldn't even decide if he was going to the castle to purpose his plan and kept on wheezing while his spectral legs tightened their muscles in the legs a bit more. His smoking eyes were nothing more but slits while he looked over to the castle with one last, deadly look. “I’m not, going to admit, my own, defeat. Not against the princess of the sun, moon, and her above all…” he muttered to himself.

The ancient unicorn king turned himself around to face the woods of White Tails one last time and opened his eyes a bit further. “You can have all the fun you like, queen of fear, but we will meet again in Tartarus, trust me on that one.” After his words had the king turned himself into the general direction of the Crystal Empire, and therefore the Frozen North.

When he stuck his nose into that direction there was an odd wind had set for him. A freezing cold one that managed to hurt his nose, even in the current state of his being. That could only mean one thing to him, a wind where even ghosts of yesterday got cold from, meant that it was the frostbiting wind of the North. “Empress of Love, we shall meet again. Maybe not this century, but I am certain we will in the next. You will wake up screaming, wishing you left the empire in my hooves, under my rule. Because, when I’m done with you...” And then he was gone. Sombra had just vanished with the winds of the North just like that.

He had returned to the realm of the spirits to continue planning for his grand scheme of all. The one scheme that would make sure that the Empire, would be his and his alone once again. And one that would be the end, for the empress of love.

Though did he wise about not going to the royals of Equestria to share his findings? It left him literally cold. Sombra didn't care for it one bit and he had all of the rights to do so. Yet the calm that usually could be sensed before the storm, was about to reach its highest point.

For it always was the darkest before the dawn. And in the east dared the first rays of the morning sun to look over the hills and tease many sleeping ponies to wake up. A new day had come and it would be that day, many things would be told, revealed and heard about.

~~~~

The sun rose itself further and further unto the skies was the night would have transformed into the day. In the castle of Canterlot stood Celestia herself on the solar altar. The last bits of her magic faded away after she had pulled the sun up from its slumber. Her one visible eye was just looking over the golden orb with delight. Her magenta red rim almost shined in the light that took its hold over the land and it was something she was truly happy about.

Ever since she had left Astral Chrome in the asylum and had heard the words of her most faithful student, was the princess caught by a force invisible and felt just unbeatable. There was a force out there that was greater than anything that currently lived in the land. A force that didn't share any similarities to her older rivals. It was a depressing thought for the almighty alicorn of the sun, but there wasn't anything that she could do against it. Not yet at least.

Sure she could send herself and her armies towards White Tails but that would end in an all-out war. Waiting too long could have granted the force powers beyond her believes and comprehension. The princess of the day stood before a difficult to cross crossroad. All the ways that it had, led her to different outcomes and thus different, possible futures. Some good, some bad. Yet the outcome was deluded by the fog that covered the dreaded woods.

Celestia had to give her thoughts some rest. She turned herself around to watch the castle she had called home for so long. She knew that Luna was still awake and that they had to discuss the matter by breakfast because they were running out of time. At least, so it felt for the elder sister.

The alicorn of the sun removed herself from the altar. Celestia had begun to wander into the direction of the castle once again. But each step felt like it was another second of a ticking time bomb, ready to blow. There was not a single clue of how much time there would be left. “I can only hope that you are having some good news for me today, doctor,” the mare whispered to herself before she disappeared into the walls of her home.

It didn't took her as long as she had thought to reach the wonderful looking throne room. There where Luna had already taken her place to have her dinner. Even to the present day it was odd for the celestial guards to witness Luna eating a full dinner in the early morning. Of course they knew that she had pretty much the reversed sleeping pattern from what they had, but it still was a curious sight to behold. Then again, the night watch was having the same issues about them.

Once Celestia had entered the room, all of the guards assume their position and remained into it. The alicorn sat down on the table with her sister. Celestia’s singular visible eye looked over the breakfast and dinner. After which she allowed herself a small giggle. It was even funny to her to that very day. Some things just never seem to fade away, that happened to be one of those things.

Yet on the opposing side was Luna already eagerly eating. A sign that she had been busy the past night with something. “I hope you don’t mind that I have already started dining, sister,” Luna spoke up with a gentle giggle after she had swallowed what was in her mouth.

“I don’t mind it at all, sister, it seems like you have been rather active last night. Do tell me then, how many guards did it took before you were overwhelmed?” Celestia replied in a teasing manner. With the help of her magic had she spread some butter over a toasted slice of bread.

That question caught Luna by surprise as she shook her head a little bit. “I, I don’t know what you mean, sister. I just took a flight over the land, that’s all,” the younger sister pleaded in her defense before she took her cup of wine and brought it over to her lips.

“Riiight,” replied Celestia with a giggle before she took a bite out of the sugar covered toast.

“It’s true, Tia!” Luna spoke with a little raise in her voice after the cup was set on the table. But she knew it was a lost cause. She had all the powers in the world that she could have ever desired, but there always was boss above boss. And that boss, was nopony else then her sister. “Okay... Twenty,” she whispered softly before continuing the dine.

That number alone was something that was of interest of Celestia. She even rose her eyebrow it as if she didn't believe it at first hearing. “Well, well, well, that’s quite the number, don’t you think?” the mare replied in her usual kind tone. Luna gave a simple nod as a response. A nod that spoke about the fact of it not being good enough for her liking.

~~~~

The two alicorns kept on eating until their stomachs were full and they could both go either peacefully to bed or spend the day awake. Just after they had stood up, one rather familiar character rushed itself into the throne room. Luna caught the figure in full view as she was heading towards that same door. Celestia on the other end, she turned herself around to witness that what was coming as she caught the panting.

“Do you, know this pony, sister?” Luna dared to ask. She had also turned herself around to watch the figure. A stallion with a lab coat that was literally out of breath stood right in between the two most powerful alicorns of the land. The princess of the moon had a difficult time to identify the pony herself. But the revelations that were about to be made, would be earth shattering.

“I do know him, sister, you even met him once as well, remember? Doctor, if you please tell me why you have arrived here in such a hurry?” the elder sister replied to the both of them but in her heart she was fearing the worst of the worst to happen. Luna on the other end didn't fully understood what her sister meant before she started to dig deep inside of her own memory.

“It’s, it’s mister Chrome. He, he,” the stallion started to ramble. Much further he didn’t come.

“Wait. A-Astral, Chrome?” Luna questioned all of the sudden with a confused look on her face. She knew exactly who the pony was. All of the memories came rushing back to her.

“Y-Yes, him!”

“Well, speak what happened to him, have you managed to get him to talk again?” Celestia questioned the good doctor. But as soon as she spoke the words, the body language indicated that she wouldn't be liking what came next out of his mouth.

“He, well, he died. He died when one of the nurses injected him with a calming syringe but, it may have worked a bit too well. She, she did everything by the books thought! Right syringe, right handling, right amount, she, she isn't to blame for it all. But, once we examined the body, it became known to us, that his eyes were filled with fright. That, was what killed him. A-Almost as if, he lived in another dimension with his mind,” the doctor explained to them to the best of his abilities.

That whole explanation of the night was something that caused both of the alicorns to look over to one another. They both carried the same shocked expression readable upon their faces. Neither of the two could even believe that such a thing could have happened. There were many manners for a pony to leave life for certain, but by fright itself? That was a new one.

The doctor feared what they would be doing to him now that the reality of the situation had been right to light and he could only pray on the fact that they would be merciful upon him. Celestia would without a single doubt. The real question was, if Luna would be.

Celestia just released a deep sigh through her nose before she shook her head and looked over to him again. “Go doctor. You did what you could. My sister and myself need to talk to each other about the matter in private,” she spoke in an oddly calm and soothing voice.

And there goes my day of sleep, thanks Tia, Luna spoke in her mind. She watched the stallion walking away just like that. The doctor had one last look over the stern face of the lunar princess before he made his leave. “So, am I correct if I say you are willing to go down there again?” Luna questioned to her sister once the stallion was truly gone.

The elder alicorn simply gave a nod to the words and she was the first one to make the step. The step towards possibly the course of the land’s entire future. And it felt to her that yet another heavy burden had fallen upon her. It was in silence, that Luna started to walk next to her sister as a support for that what has to come.

“Tia...” Luna started when the two royals stood before a place in the castle that was everything but often used. A magical door that would have lead them right into the vault of items too dangerous to see the light of day. “Just how do you plan on attacking this, this fog of inside of White Tails. I mean, that is obviously what is driving them all insane from what you told and showed me.”

“While it is true that the fog drives them crazy, what happened to the souls we don’t see any more after they went in?” Celestia asked while her horn glowed in the golden magical aura. “Who is responsible for such acts?” The beam was released from the horn and unto the door which allowed it to open as a magical portal. “Somepony we know, or somepony new to the fields?”

A portal had emerged that would have led them straight into the depths of the Canterlot mines. To a place that was sealed by the ages. Nothing could get in or out unless it possessed the magic of a princess. “So you’re saying, somepony is creating it?” Luna replied with a tilted head. It wasn't something she had truly expected but almost immediately could point her hoof to a few characters that could be to blame for it all.

Yet she couldn't be more wrong in her life.

~~~~

Both of the royals stepped through the portal. The darkness of the mines was something that caught the both of them by surprise. For the portal closed itself almost right away after they had stepped through. Yet with a flick of their horns had both of the royals allowed the torches inside of the place to be lit up.

What was revealed to their eyes were the deadly wonders hidden from eyes to see. Items used by previous dark figures to take over the land or places. Wonders that had been used by Celestia and Luna herself. Not to mention almost every single book that Starswirl himself deemed to be too dangerous for the public. Yet the attention of Luna was caught by something that was surrounded by the torches. Something she didn't had expected to see on a place like there.

Something she thought that was long gone by the gears of time. “Impossible,” she whispered to herself before parting with Celestia and the mare of the moon simply walked up to a mannequin with an armor set.

It wasn’t just any kind of armor set was played upon the mannequin. It was a set that she knew all too well. Perhaps even a little bit too well for her liking. The fires of the forges that created it appeared in her eyes for just a split second before one name was whispered. The name of her alter ego. “Nightmare Moon,” was the name that she whispered into the air.

The armor of nopony else then the creature of darkness herself could be found on the mannequin. It was a thing that worried Luna to degrees unknown. Yet on a quick and closer inspection, it wasn't any replica or something, it was the real deal. For the dents, scratches and repair marks were all clearly visible to her. A thing which made it even more dangerous.

“This shouldn't be here, it should have been broken and send to all the corners of the land,” the mare mumbled angry to herself before the ears perked up at a sound. The sound of her sister calling her to come. There wasn't anything she could do than to heed the calling unless she wanted an angry Celestia. “We shall meet again,” the alicorn of the night whispered to the armor set before she followed the voice of her sister.

Luna met up with Celestia who had begun to speak her words of worry. “We need to return the elements of harmony to Twilight and her friends in case something does go deeply wrong. If they need them, they have them right with them instead of having to wait for us.”

“A smart approach sister, I do have to admit that from you, but it seems like you are forgetting one single fact. Rarity is still missing, remember,” replied Luna before she found that little hole in the plan of her elder sister.

Another sigh left through the mouth of Celestia. One that was followed by a nod with her head. “While that is more than true, I simply can’t leave the elements here. Perhaps, they would believe me if I said she would be with them in spirit,” she spoke up, questioning herself even.

That was something that caught Luna of guard as a whole. Her sister was prepared to lie against five of the most important ponies in the whole land? “T-Tia, w-what are you proposing here!? Y-You are out of your mind if you say that!”

“You and I, haven’t sensed the essence of Rarity since the day she was lost, remember!” Celestia returned in a snarl towards Luna. “Nopony knows what happened to her, she has just vanished from the surface of the land to heavens high know where.”

That outburst alone made Luna take a couple of steps back before she shook her head. She couldn't believe the facts as they were played out before her. She couldn't believe that Celestia, her own flesh and blood, was willing to do such a horrible deed.

Little did she knew, or they even, that the real terror still had to struck them.

When the two alicorn reached the place where the elements were stored safely, Celestia charged up her horn once again and opened another, hidden door. Under the rumbling sounds of stone being moved and even crushed had the walls just split themselves open. And forth came the glass cabinet with the mythical and mystical elements of harmony. And another shock went through both of their bodies, making them literally frozen on the spot.

Both of the alicorns just couldn't believe what they witnessed with their own eyes. Five elements that were intact and bright flowing from their jewel. While the sixth wasn't glowing anymore. It had turned into just a dark gem that was frightful to even look at. “G-Generosity… R-Rarity...” Luna spoke up while she looked at the darkened necklace and couldn't believe her eyes.

“And that marks, Equestria’s darkest day,” Celestia managed to speak. She made a couple of steps back in utter disbelief to the events that played out before her. If she looked closer upon the necklace, sparks of dark magic sprouted from it, touching the metal of it before disappearing. “How could we, have been so blind..?”

It took neither of them a long time to just figure out what on earth had happened to the beautiful tailor from Ponyville. All of the puzzle pieces slowly fell on their place but it also brought one devastating revelation with itself up to their minds. “S-So Rarity became, the creature that haunts, White Tails? But, how does that work?” Luna dared to question. Not even she had the slightest of clue of how it happened. All she knew was that it happened.

Celestia looked even more stunned towards the elements as in her mind, the revelation was made as first. “I, I wish I knew, sister dear. But, this is the worst of the worst. I can’t believe it.”

Those words caused Luna to look over to her sister with a worried expression. Celestia didn't back down for much in her life. But the way she spoke the words were something that caught her attention. It almost sounded like she was back to the decisive moment where she got banned to the moon. “W-What, how, how do you mean?”

“They’re all just, useless now.”

“Pardon?”

“The elements are useless. There is nothing that can be done with them. Somehow, something had managed to cripple the most powerful force in the land with the clap of a hoof. Something that we both haven’t seen before or have forgotten in the gears of time itself,” Celestia explained with care. The disbelief of it all still was readable upon her face.

“I, I can’t, I won’t!” Luna almost shouted to the elements but the reality of the situation was there given fair and square. The element of generosity was corrupted and finding a new one wouldn't be all too easy because of the fact that Rarity was still alive. Corrupted for certain, but she was alive and kicking.

“You have to accept the facts as they are presented for us, Luna,” replied Celestia while she tried to calm her little sister down. Though the facts were too great for their minds to understand. Five necklaces and one tiara of ultimate power from the thing ponies represent were transformed into nothing more but some kind of fancy wear for a rich mare or something the like.

Neither of the princesses wanted to believe the situation but Celestia was the first one to actually accept it. Yet even though she accepted it, she still just couldn't believe it in her heart. It felt wrong on all the levels to her. Over the course of her time, nothing had been able to cripple the elements and now, now they were. The two princesses were faced with a situation of a magnitude that was unknown to them. And that something in and of itself.

~~~~

There wasn't much use for the elements to even remove them out of their cases. It was unknown whether the lightning sparks that were released from the necklace of generosity could actually in fact other being but if that would be the case and either Luna or Celestia touched it, all hell was truly going to be there. “Luna, could, could you leave me alone here for a bit. I’m going to clean up a bit here,” Celestia then spoke. She could have only hoped her sister accepted the request made.

Uncertain of what her sister meant but not wanting to figure it out, Luna just heeded the call and she made her departure. She would have walked back to the portal’s archway but not before having looked at the armor set of Nightmare Moon.

“We shall meet again, soon enough,” the alicorn of the moon whispered to herself. It was just before she gave the helmet a stroke and felt the massive dent in it. A dent that was created by a force of long ago. “So very soon indeed.”

Then she made her departure from the vault. Her horn charged itself up as she closed the gap between herself and the massive stone archway. With one simply flick of her horn was the portal opened and she walked back through it as if nothing happened. Once her magical charge had been vanished, the portal closed upon itself again. That sound was enough to warn Celestia back in the vault that Luna was truly gone. That she was truly alone in the moment.

Celestia had fought to keep something back for the longest of times. Though the time was there. She was all alone, she could safely allow herself to let it go. That was exactly what she did. The mighty alicorn of the sun closed her eyes. Below the visible one, there was a small watery line that appeared. A line that traveled away from it, over the cheek and down to the chin before it fell over to the ground. It was in the moment that the tear and the stone made contact with one another, a small rainbow was being created with it.

“I’m sorry, Rarity, I’m so sorry,” she whispered to herself before the horn managed to charge itself up with magic. The glass cabinet of the elements was pushed back into its place while the stones slid back into their respectable and original locations. And then it was her turn to just leave the vault and start praying to the heavens high that everything would become alright in the end. But a feeling in her guts spoke that that wouldn't become the case at all.

~~~~

Back inside of the castle itself was Luna walking down the sun filled hallways towards her wing of the castle. Perhaps the only place in the land where the night would be lasting forever. Time and time again had the sisters argued about the facts but eventually came to an agreement for it. Much to Luna’s own personal delight. It was a quick thought that came to her mind as she saw how the transition was made from day to night at the end of the hallway.

Though the more she walked in her wing and headed towards her chambers, there was something that kept on bugging her. Something inside of her mind caused her to look at the events differently. Almost as if she recalled them like a faint memory that had lost a lot of bits and pieces. Something that went back to the times she rather didn't even thought about.

Luna opened the door to her very own chambers. The mare would have drop herself on the bed in order to gain so much needed sleep for the day. “How can you do anything with that sun always burning in your eyes, Tia?” the younger sister mumbled to herself. With one last charge of her horn had closed the doors again and had her face buried in the pillow.

Even though she was a tired as she possibly could be, there still was the feeling ahead of her that was caused by the faint memory. Something deep inside of her mind and brain just kept on hammering on the facts as they were and that little moment in time from ever so long ago.

Seconds turned into minutes and those became a set of two hours before Luna’s eyes sprung open and a spark could be seen in the blackness of the pupils. “Oh no, no, no, no,no!” she mumbled to herself before the mare left the bed as a whole and dropped herself in the chair before her desk.

A piece of paper and a quill were being brought before her and she simply started to write down the facts as she remembered them from both the tailor and a self from ages ago. Once that was done, everything the two didn't had in common was scratched through until two words remained. Two words that stood by both Rarity and the older self. “N-No, it, it can’t be! You, you were destroyed by the elements of harmony!” she stumbled out of her mouth.

Then it hit her like tongue against a clock to bang it. She knew –or thought she knew– exactly who had managed to get a hold on the unicorn and thus corrupt her. “Impossible that it was you, you were only an aid to my mind. How could you have, taken over a… Oh goodness me,” Luna simply fell silent before she leaned back in her chair. The devastated look in her eyes was as clear as day.

It was widely known to the ponies of the land that Luna of course once was the ever so feared Nightmare Moon. But she got both banished and cleansed from her ‘evil’ counterpart. Many thought that the sheer entity of Moon was destroyed, but that didn't seem to be the case whatsoever. It appeared to have waited in her eyes, waited for the right pony to come and become her. Use her as a vessel to carry on her duties. “This is not good...” Luna spoke to herself. Then the choice was given to her. She could either go to her sister and tell her findings, or simply wait a bit longer until the true confirmation had come to them. Speculation or fact, both would be equally strong enough to open something.

All that she needed was nothing more but a spotting of the creature that had taken over White Tails woods. It wouldn't and wasn't something many ponies wanted to do and that was something Luna caught immediately after the thought itself had popped up in her mind. Yet she needed to be doing something because they were running out of time.

Who knew how many were in the army if this elusive pony that had used Rarity as a vessel of some kind? Who knew just how ready they were to wage war over the lands and cause both havoc and trouble for every soul that lived there? But the reality of the situation was that the royals were already running out of time.

Even stronger, they were already out of time but didn’t realize it. The death of Astral Chrome meant that there weren't any other survivors from any assault in White Tails so they had no idea what the menace looked like. But his death also called in the storm. The magic that the storm carried, stood on the point of revealing itself to the ponies in Ponyville.

~~~~

Deep inside of the woods of White Tails, after having continued her sleep that was rudely interrupted by the defeated unicorn king, had Nightmare Rarity woken up a bit later than she originally had wanted. A grumble left her mouth while she rose her body from the bed and set the hooves on the floor. Her mane and tail looked like an absolute mess and she wanted to do something about it.

The only thing she knew on how to deal with it, was to take a long, steaming shower for an hour. That was thus exactly what she did. The streams of water worked like a true refresher for her body and mind.

Both of her commanders on the other end, they had been up for hours. And as per usual, it was Shadowblood who watched over to the ponies in the dungeon. The mentally ill, shadow stallion looked over the prisoners with usual crazed stare to further intensify the fear they had pulsing through them. Nopony even dared to speak against him as the muscles looked like he could literally snap a pony in half if he wanted.

Shadowfright just floated around the courtyard of the domain. He was watching if everything was going to schedule in his eyes. Though the day was quiet. Not much would have happened during it. Not even the false shepherds that guarded the woods had something to say. It felt everything but good inside of the cloud’s mind. Almost as if it was too good to be true. But he couldn't predict or say anything about the matter there and then, because the kind of days they had, had made their presence known in the past. Calm days in which nothing happened.

Which was a major relief in the eyes of the unicorn queen. She could take it easy and just enjoy the day for what it was. Something that mostly meant her toying with the subjects that were caught instead of doing actual experiments upon them. As sickening as it was, she loved seeing the frightened looks upon the helpless faces. A little something that both of the commanders also seemed to be enjoying with her.

While the day continued on like it always had been doing, the nightmarish queen found herself residing inside of her chambers, waiting for something special. Dinner was about to be served and after it, possibly one of the most crowning of achievements was about to start for her.

The mare laid once again on the sofa while a small table was set in front of her. On the staircase she heard the the hoofsteps of a being coming up. The waters already filled themselves up inside of her mouth. On the menu would be something she had loved ever since the transformation had been completed and actually looked forward to it.

In the opening appeared a stallion who was carrying a sealed plate and set it upon the table with a bow. And without a word he also left again. Leaving the queen behind to enjoy the prepared meal. The scents that were filling the room caused her to moan softly to herself. For she smelled the scent of freshly and finely prepared meat. The flesh of animals caught in the woods of Everfree always was just so tender and that made for some delicious dishes in her eyes.

~~~~

Once the dinner was over and the moon stood high in the skies, the nightmarish unicorn found that it was time to grow the seeds of her labor. The mare could be found in the late evening and on the balcony of the domain while both of her commanders stood in the courtyard of the place. The horn of the nightmarish unicorn charged itself up and the blue aura covered both the horn and the gem. For a few seconds she kept on building the power before eventually just releasing it into the air.

One powerful blue beam was shot into the air. Most of the nightmare forces looked up towards it. The beam kept on going and going before it eventually exploded into many different sparks that traveled over the skies. It was the starting signal for everything to come. Her plan would be advancing over to the next stage of it and a massive grin of delight formed itself upon her face. She had patiently waited for the moment and it would be finally there.

“And here we go,” the unicorn whispered in silence to herself. She looked over to raining sparks of blue magic before they disappeared out of existence.

10 Family reunion with interest

Hours came and went for the pink coated, earth pony mare. She had helped out in the bakery of the Cake family for the entire day once again. But just helping them out there wasn't the only thing she did though, for in between everything, the mare managed to take care of the two foals that the owners of the sweetstore had. All of it combined just seemed like it was the most normal day in the world. All of that energy inside her body kept her highly alert. Long before either of the two foals could do something dangerous, she was right there to make sure nothing went wrong.

Both of the Cakes found her a true marvel every single day. Nopony in the face of the land could as much tip to the energy of Pinkie Pie herself. Nopony even wanted to have that much energy soaring through their body though. Either way was it something that helped the mare going with her duties and every day came to a good end because of just that.

Yet on one particular evening had Pinkie found herself literally exhausted from just about everything. If she had to believe her feelings, she had never worked so hard in the bakery as that she did that day and both of the Cakes knew she needed her rest. It was Mrs. Cake who was the first to actually walk to the mare who still stood in the bakery, watching the ovens. “Pinkie,” she started with a concerned look in her eyes. “Maybe you should take a rest and get some sleep for the night.”

Those words caused the mare to turn herself around with a confused gaze in her eyes, almost as if she didn't understood a single word from what was told to her. It took the pink coated mare a few second to get back to the place where she belonged before giving a nod to Mrs. Cake. “You, you might be right. Goodnight,” she spoke up. She still a bit confused of just why they said it.

Pinkie had lived by the two of them for years. To a certain extent had the Cakes not only witnessing her only as their employee or even the pony who rented their entire attic, Pinkie had become so much more for them. She almost was like the grown up daughter that they never had. They cared for the mare with their heart and soul, they had only the best forth with her and that was exactly what happened.

The pink maned earth pony mare turned herself around before she released a small yawn and left the kitchen as whole. Something that caused the Cakes to sigh in utmost relief. It meant that no more accidents were waiting to happen. Slow and steady would Pinkie have walked through the sweetstore itself and finally went up to the first floor.

She wandered over the darkened hallway to get to the attic stairs, her ears had begun to twitch a bit. They caught a sound in one of the rooms. A peaceful one that was going over everything she could imagine at that moment. Curious but knowing in the back of her head, Pinkie walked up to a door that was slightly open and placed her ear against the opening.

Out of the room it came, the sounds of two foals lying peacefully asleep in their bed. Two foals that made Pinkie shed a small tear of delight every single time she thought back about the happy memories. The events that they shared, were unmatched for the earth pony. Except maybe by those of her friends and true family. A small smile formed itself below the muzzle of the mare as she softly whispered the words that were on her mind. “Goodnight you two, and be nice against one another.”

Only then would Pinkie have continued her way over to the stairs. The very stairs that would be leading her to the attic of the building. The place that was for her and her alone.

The candles were one by one lit again as Pinkie needed some light for herself in order to see just where she was going. Another yawn managed to sneak its way past her lips and she felt just how heavy the eyelids actually were. She was tired unlike any other day and she felt it the moment her body gently powered down. Her mind had calmed down for the night and the eyes looked weary.

“…No, no story tonight,” yawned Pinkie to herself before she carefully changed into a pajama with matching little hat. Gummy appeared from below the blankets and he walked up to the mare, his tail swaying from side to side. Eventually he just rubbed himself against the mare. Who on her own turn gave the little, green alligator a pat on the head and a nuzzle upon the nose. “You have to make way, I’ll be joining you soon,” Pinkie whispered to him before she went on and blew out all of the candles.

Shrouded by nothing but darkness could the mare still manage to find a way through it. She dropped down on the bed with a certain degree of care. The mare would have started to snuggle up against the warm and soft blankets while Gummy found his way up to her chest. There he would stay and fall peacefully asleep against her.

Though where her pet went almost peacefully, Pinkie herself seemed to start having trouble with getting into sleep. She couldn't place her hoof on the matter but something wasn't right. Yet in a matter that seemed hours –but in fact where just minutes– had even Pinkie Pie fallen asleep. The only sounds that filled the attic of Sugarcube Corner, were the winds on the world outside traveling past the building, and the gentle snoring of the mare herself. A mare whose mane had gone flat the deeper she fell into her sleep.

~~~~

“Pinkie? Pinkie? Can you come down here as soon as possible, please? Something has been delivered for you.” Those were the very first words the mare heard when she woke up from her sleep. Pinkie was taken completely off guard by them of course. It was impossible to tell just who spoke them against her. Either one of the Cakes seemed likely at that moment. Though the light cerulean rimmed eyes opened themselves again. They would be greeted by the wallpaper and the mare almost jumped straight out of bed.

“Huh?!” she spoke up to herself before giving a shake with her head. Something that caused the little ball at the end of her hat to land right against her forehead. “Well that was weird,” Pinkie said before she gave a small shrug and then just went on to do her daily routine. But in the back of her head, she never forgot the words that were spoken by the Cakes. Something was waiting for her which perhaps was a surprise or an order she had been waiting on for such a long time.

Despite not having the will to wait, she still had to brush her teeth, wash herself a little bit and inflate her mane and tail again. The two things almost blew themselves up like a balloon and showcased the mare as she was always known. With a final giggle and smile given to the mirror, Pinkie Pie started to hop out of the little bathroom and down the stairs.

There where she didn't have a care in the world, Gummy seemed to have had different plans for the time of the day. For the tranquil, little, toothless alligator managed to crawl out from under the bed and looked over to the exact same mirror where the mare had been standing. Only he caught something perhaps a little bit more disturbing. For he could swear to have seen an image of a dark mare into it.

Yet then the most impossible thing seemed to have happened right before his eyes. The entire mirror just cracked itself. No force, no nothing. Yet it still cracked. The mouth of the alligator fell open as he couldn't believe a second of what he saw. Not to mention, one broken mirror meant seven years of bad luck. He needed to get to Pinkie, fast.

Though when one speaks or wishes upon the devil, it is usually said that the creature shall appear. And in Gummy’s case, it was more than true. For the clopping of Pinkie hooves upon the stairs could be heard and soon enough, the mare herself appeared back in the attic again. “Hihi, can’t forget you when there is something special going on, Gummy,” she spoke hyper excited on just what the delivered thing was going to be for her.

Though before she picked him up, the creature did manage to point over to the broken mirror. At first his strange and utterly odd leg signals were something that Pinkie didn't understand one bit. It was only after he had assumed the position of the hunting dog, that the head of the mare turned itself over to the small washing area.

The sight came into the blue rimmed eyes of the earth pony. She could only gasp to herself in fright. She couldn't believe the things that she saw with her very own eyes. The mirror had cracked and broken were rather unsettling for her to say the least. I was property of the Cakes and they needed to know what happened. Even if she didn't knew how to bring to them.

With a gulp that was clearly audible had Pinkie managed to take her attention away from the mirror. She lowered her head a bit in shame. Though that way could the gator climb off of the bed and straight into her mane where he would be making his home for the day. “Oh this is not good,” the pink mare whispered to herself. Turning herself around and began to prepare for the worst.

Instead of hopping down the stairs like she did before, Pinkie just walked down from it. Her head was somewhere different and that was something that could cause some interesting moments. Yet everything remained rather calm around the earth pony. Much to her own relief. But the biggest obstacle still had to come in the shape of the Cakes themselves. Their reactions, was the thing she feared the most.

~~~~

“Uhm, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I, how do I say this..?” the pink maned mare began to speak. Though only after she had joined the four of them at the breakfast table in the kitchen. It seemed odd to have it right next to where everything was being baked, but it was how they ran their shop and nopony complained about it.

“Just say it Pinkie, you know you can tell us everything, right?” Mrs. Cake replied to the words before she took a bite out of her toast. They were reassuring, but she had no clue how they would react to her words.

Pinkie swallowed once before she gave a very gentle nod. “Well, okay. The mirror in my room, broke itself this morning. I, I don’t know who did it, or how, because when I left it, it was still in one piece and when I got Gummy, it was just broken,” Pinkie confessed against the Cakes. Who on their own turn looked first a bit shady to the earth pony before cracking a smile.

“Our little Pumpkin might have caused it, he did release a small charge of magic when the diapers were being changed. Luckily nopony got hurt, unlike the last time,” Mr. Cake replied before the both of his eyes turned from left to right. Those words, those exact words, caused the pink mare to sigh in relief as a weight fell off of her shoulders. She wasn't held responsible for it in any way, but still decided to pay half of the price for a new mirror.

“Which then leaves us at the big delivery for you, Pinkie. Here you go dear,” Mrs. Cake added just before she passed the mare a sealed letter. A letter that was appeared dusty and some sand and gravel fell off of it as it was given to her. A set of curious eyes were given to it as the inspection began on the outside. And almost immediately the mare started to shake on her seating.

“But that’s, but that’s impossible. This, this can’t be from them!” the mare replied in an instant. She dropped the letter on the table and removed her hooves from it like it contained a plague of some kind.

They were confused by the words that Pinkie had spoken. Both of the Cakes looked at her with a questioning gaze while the foals brought some gibberish forth. “W-What is impossible, Pinkie?” Mr. Cake asked her. In his voice he betrayed the fact he was concerned about it.

Pinkie’s head on the other end just lowered itself down before the eyes closed themselves. “And it was going to be such a fantastic day,” she spoke up softly to herself. The mare knew she had to gather the courage that was still somewhere inside of her body. A courage to face the facts as they were and read the content of that cursed letter. “It’s, it’s my father's hoofwriting.”

Those words alone caused both of the Cakes to gasp. Pinkie had told them that her father was a stern stallion who did have his heart on the right place but almost never showed it. A hard and honest worker who mostly kept everything to himself. And if he wrote directly to Pinkie Pie, the Cakes could only guess just what he wanted from her.

“If, if he asks about bi-” Mr. Cake began before almost receiving a slap from his wife. “Okay, okay, I’ll shut it.”

There was nothing that could be done, the thing was delivered and it was up to Pinkie to decide just what was going to be done with it. Of course she could just send it back to them, or burn it in the fires of the fireplace. But that chewing feeling of it being something important was still present inside of her body. It could have gone literally into every possible direction.

Pinkie was uncertain of what to do. Though her hoof managed to take a knife that was laying on the table. The head of the mare rose itself back up as she looked straight into the eyes of both of the Cakes. “When, was this delivered?” she asked them both with a serious tone.

“Uhm, it, it arrived this morning. Not even half an hour old, I dare to say,” Mr. Cake replied while his wife could only nod. In response would Pinkie release a deep sigh before she opened the letter with the clean knife.

The content was removed and it consisted out of just a single letter. A letter that was written literally from top to bottom in the same hoofwriting. Without a word spoken to anypony present, Pinkie read through the whole thing and the further she went, the more unbelievable the story became. “No, they, they can’t do this to me,” the mare mumbled to herself as the letter was flung over the table.

They knew it wasn't their duty but they couldn't help themselves. Both of the Cakes scanned the letter for anything that could be of a rather great importance of what happened to Pinkie. Because in their ears they heard the deflation of the mane. And whenever something like that happened, it was bad news for everypony.

The three of them had looked over the letter and came to a rather horrifying conclusion. While Pinkie knew everything, the Cakes only knew bits and pieces. Though they had figured it out fast. The mare needed to go back to the rockfarm where she had grown up. The how’s and why’s were unknown to the bakers but from the tone of the letter she needed to come home fast.

It was a literal slap in the face for each of them without a doubt. As much as it was true that Pinkie loved to visit the farm, she never truly belonged there anymore after she had gained her cutie mark. Yet it seemed like the chains of the past weren't as easily undone as she thought they were.

There was only one thing that Pinkie could be doing on that particular moment. It was something that devastated her a whole lot more then that it did the Cakes. She had to say her goodbyes to them. It was uncertain whether or not she would be able to return to the place or live the rest of her existence upon that farm that had been in her family for ages.

In order to keep things a little bit civil, they did first finished up their breakfast before planning the route for the saddened earth pony. Mrs. Cake couldn't help herself but to continue to stroke the flattened made of the mare. She felt sorry for her, truly and utterly sorry. As the moments drew nearer had the mood turned into that of a funeral and the foals felt it clearly.

For they started to cry and both Pinkie and Mr. Cake tried to comfort them. Encouraging words were spoken by each of them, but it was the pink coated mare who eventually also fell out in tears.

She didn't wanted to go, but she had to. “I, I will miss you all just so much.” she whispered as a tight hug was given to the two ponies who had taken care for her for so long.

“Never forget, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake whispered while his wife cried upon the shoulder of the mare. As much as she didn't wanted to go, she had to and they knew it. “It, it will be alright.”

“I can only, hope that,” answered Pinkie in a soft voice. She broke the hug and sighed deep. “I, I’m going to pack my bags okay?” And in response gave the Cakes her a nod.

The minutes passed by like they were nothing before Pinkie finally was ready to hit the train. With the day still in the early morning, she managed to get on one of the first trains that would be going into the general direction she needed to be. The more time she spend packing, the less she could believe that she had to go. She had to go away from Ponyville, to return to her home, forever.

One last but massive hug was given to the mare by the Cakes before they heard the rumbles in the skies. A thunderstorm had come moving in, almost as if it wanted to add to the already sad mood. “Go, go now or you miss the train,” Mrs. Cake whispered softly before Pinkie broke the hug.

With a nod given to the family, the pink mare sighed deeply while she took her bags. “Goodbye you all,” was the only thing she spoke before entering the train. Not a moment too soon either. After she had entered were the doors closed and the machine came to life. Then it went on its way. It left the station behind in order to bring the pink mare back to the home she was born.

The Cakes started to weep upon the station while Pinkie sat in a private compartment and looked out of the window. The rain falling against it like mad and the lashes of lightning here and there seemed like a signal of bad news. But the more she stared out in the distance, the more she noticed the faces of each of her friends upon the window itself. Flashes of them smiling and laughing were seen for the fraction of a second.

Friends who she didn't even got the chance to say goodbye against in person.

~~~~

In the end of things did she stood there. She stood at the entrance of the rockfarm and looked over it with a saddened look. Nothing had changed over the time she had been gone as everything was kept just the same with one massive exception. It had aged with time itself and not for the better. A sigh was released through the mouth. Pinkie made the descend down the path and towards the house where her family lived. The courage was nowhere to be found and having Gummy for support wasn't there either. For one of the few times in her life, she was having to face something alone.

The little gator was left in Ponyville, left in the care of the Cakes so that they at least had some memory of Pinkie that wasn't going to be old. A thing she had come to regret the closer she came to the door. Though it were her ears that perked themselves up as the wind brought an all too familiar sound with it. The sound of pickaxes hacking in against cold stone.

All the feelings of her first few years rushed back to her and gulped as she stood before the door. Her head lowered itself and caused some of her mane to fall before her left eyes. Trembling was the hoof brought up to the front door and gave a few knocks upon it. The sounds seemed to travel through her marrow and bone as she felt her fate being sealed more and more.

When the door was finally opened, she caught a brown coated stallion in her eyes. The moment was there and then. She found the courage to raise her head back up but closed her eyes along the way. It was only after she had come to the stallion’s eye height that the eyes opened themselves.

What they revealed were two cerulean blue rimmed eyes with a watery line as if she was going to erupt into tears. Her eyes looked straight into the stern, yellow rims of her father. He looked like he hadn't aged a single day and it was something that bared the mare even more concern. Without a word spoken he pointed over to a pickaxe that stood against the side of the house.

The signal that was given was one that the mare knew all too well and never had forgotten in her life. Though as much as she had tried, it never left her. In response gave Pinkie a simple nod as her eyes asked him if he could take care of her luggage. Even though the eyes remained rather unchanged, the answer was given to her. A faint smile cracked its way upon her lips before she picked up the pickaxe and went around the house.

Only to find her beloved and younger sisters, Inky and Blinky. Even though they had aged for years, the looks remained unchanged from their filly time. It almost seemed like Pinkie had never gone away from home at all. Something that came to a much needed relief. “Hey you two!” Pinkie spoke up happily to see at least her sisters again. Though the happiness was gone soon enough. Neither of the mares even as much even glared over to her. She removed the strand of flattened mane out of her eye and placed it behind her ear. Then it was the smile which dropped itself again.

It seemed that they were a bit too busy working and the pink mare shrugged it off as it wasn't something new. Even in her younger days, the two could be completely deaf to spoken words that weren't about danger. So the only thing she could be doing was done again. And that was nothing else than farming rocks.

But in order to do that, she had to splice some first. That was exactly where the pickaxe came in quite helpful. Despite the fact of having worked in a sweetshop for years, Pinkie didn't forget the techniques that were used by her family. Though as soon as the very first hack was being made by her, the reason of why she left the place became apparent almost immediately.

It was everything but a life for her.

~~~~

Minutes turned into days which turned into weeks. For weeks on end Pinkie had been farming the rocks she was ordered to from her father. Yet every single day seemed like there wouldn't be coming an end to it. Pinkie didn't like it one bit, she wanted to go back to Ponyville, back to her beloved friends and job. But instead, she was stuck there. Despite her stern father, the sister had started to speak with one another again. Their relation was the only thing that managed to pull Pinkie through.

They had lived through Pinkie’s departure. Their sister become almost an alien to both Inky and Blinky. Something that wasn't a considerable good thing though. Mostly because of the fact that the other two Pie sisters were having trust issues with her. Despite the fact that they never showed it to their pink sibling, it hung almost in the air when they were around one another.

But Pinkie herself, she was completely oblivious to the atmosphere that was hanging around the place. It was because of her own issues which she had to sort out. Issues that may or not have been a bit more bigger in dilemma. Though it wasn't the right time to think about them, one wrong cut on a rock, meant the difference between farming and unfarmable. An unfarmable rock was about the last thing Pinkie wanted to present to her father, even after all the weeks that had gone by.

Hours went by before the sun was traded back in for the moon and stars. The day had been like every other day for Pinkie. The last thing she wanted was to talk about it to any of her siblings or parents. Because they all knew just how tough the job actually was. But Pinkie herself, went to bed early in the evening. She didn’t have the energy anymore to do anything else.

Just before she stepped into the bed, her eyes had a look through the window to the world outside. To the bright and beautiful world where she once walked around on. Though she was reduced to the cage that was her home. It caused her to sigh a bit deep before the transition was made into a yawn. A deep yawn that was the signal for her to turn around and fall asleep upon the bed. Not even the blankets were placed over herself as the physical exhaustion managed to catch up with her again.

Everything seemed to be going fine in the first few hours of her being asleep, but the mare bared a rather dark secret with her. One that haunted her each and every night behind her closed eyelids. The desire to just end the life, of the very pony who brought her back into the hellhole that was the rockfarm. She had the actual and sickening desire to end the life of nopony else then her father. During the night she had, there didn't seem to be any kind of exception to the rule.

~~~~

In the middle of the night had the earth pony woken up. She was covered in sweat and panted deep on her bed. She couldn't believe what she had seen in her dream. The very moment in which she stabbed her father with a knife, all to end the torture she was suffering from. “N-No, I can’t do it! I can’t and I won’t!” Pinkie whispered to herself. She held her head with both of her forehooves and shivered deeply from the frights that she had.

Everything before her eyes turned to nothing but black the more she forced her eyes closed. Little did she knew, that those motions were the exact same ones used to open up the door to her much more insane side. A side which her friends had only to witness once when she wanted to throw a party, but they couldn't come. That insanity beyond belief had returned to her again. It did that in full force. “But I, can,” said Pinkie in a much, much more sinister tone.

Without thought or word did she left the bed and turned herself over to the window another time. Her shrunken, blue rimmed eyes looked over to the full moon that was visible from it and grinned like a devil. The insanity was flowing through her body vividly. It meant that she was capable of doing anything and everything. That Included ending the nightmare she had been living for weeks. “I think it is time I go and have a little talk with my beloved father,” Pinkie brought forth before she let out a sickening giggle.

Yet the giggle wasn't enough to wake up the other two ponies with whom she shared the room. Both Inky and Blinky still laid peacefully asleep in their bed. Pinkie moved herself out of the room and entered the hallway. The door to their bedroom was closed as quietly as she could do it. After which the eyes started to stare through the darkness.

Not much could be made out of it all, with the exception of the door that led to her parent’s bedroom as well as the staircase that went down to the floor below. “Might be needing something, pointy,” whispered Pinkie to herself before she started to walk over to the staircase. The plans of insanity itself were being forged deep inside of the mare her twisted mind. All logic and reason, for as much as Pinkie had that begin with, were crushed and shattered into nothing but bits and pieces scattered across the brain.

It was only her insane side that was still a whole piece and that was something that the earth pony could live with. As an entire new personality had taken home in the body of Pinkie and not to mention her being fully aware of her actions. Which made it an all the more dangerous combination to have.

~~~~

When the pink mare stood in the living room of the building, she noticed a couple of pickaxes that were standing in the corner. Their hefty weight and the sharp tips would definitely be a massive force to be reckoned with. Though they would also be too messy if she wanted to bash in the skull or chest of her father. Nonetheless, she walked over to them and picked on up. Raised on her hind legs had Pinkie tested the thing out a couple of times as if she was actually considering bringing it along.

It would be been a rather sick irony if that was the way how her father would have gotten to his end. Bashed in by one of his own pickaxes, but it also would make things a lot more obvious for others to figure out. And that was about the last thing that the earth pony wanted to happen to her. So the pickaxe was laid back against the others and she turned herself around.

The glare in her eyes irradiated the inanity alone as she meant to saw a face in the window where the moonlight shone through. “H-Hello?” she softly whispered to the sight before it was being shrugged off. Though the mare could have sworn that she saw the face of a dark coated mare with cat like irises. Perhaps she was going crazy, perhaps her own insanity had a much deeper effect upon her then she could have ever imagined. Perhaps she was even hallucinating already. All the likely theories but each shrugged off. None of them had the intention of helping her anytime soon.

The mare left the pickaxes and went over to the kitchen. She was hoping to find the very thing that she needed in order to bring the tyrant of a brown coated stallion down. Even though he was her own father, she felt like him as a slave driver to the entire family. And the only want to end the torment she was suffering, was to end the life of the one that caused it.

In the kitchen had Pinkie slowly opened all of the drawers until she found the thing she was looking for. In the drawer with all the cutlery, she found the very thing she was looking for. A long, slender and sharp knife. With tension in her hoof had she picked it up and looked at the blade along with a grin that could send the shivers down the spine of any pony. The end of her torment is pretty near, she could almost smell the fresh air again.

Though the price that needed to be paid, was one larger than she could have ever imagined in her entire life. She had never taken the life of somepony before. She always wanted to them happy and then, then she stood at the brink of killing somepony she knew and loved.

It didn't feel right to her, it never had felt right to her. But the insanity that was flowing through her body caused everything to become blur. The lines of reality and madness were no more or crossed one another. She was off of the world with her mind while the body remained. There wasn't anything that could be done outside of a few powerful wheezes above the sink as if she wanted to puke out.

All manners of caging the insane side of the mare again were blocked and locked back up. Something she wasn't powerful enough to do, not with the events as they were played out before her. And it was that madness, that would be costing her a lot more than it was dear to her. For with a powerful turn, Pinkie looked back into the living room with the grin before she whispered her words. “Oh father dear, soon you will have nothing left to fear.”

It would have been with those words that the pink earth pony would venture on towards the stairs. Only to climb them up again. With the knife in her hoof and her walking around on her hind legs, there was another strand of mane that had fallen before her left eye. In the light of the moon that fell through the window on the other side of the hallway, Pinkie almost looked like a demon that came up the stairs. Almost as if the ghost of the house had possessed Pinkie Pie herself. The blue rimmed eyes almost gave off their light as she never removed the grin from her face.

With quiet steps would she have walked over to the door. The one that would be leading over to the bedroom of her parents. The mare opened it with the greatest of care. The opening itself was just enough for her to slid through and then it was closed once again. There she then stood, in the room of her parents with the target locked in her eyes. The salvation was just so close but for a moment she could physically taste the blood and metal in her mouth.

Something that caused her to shudder slightly on her spot, but the plan would be continued no matter what would happen to her. But she wasn't all without reasoning of course. Despite the madness that was flowing through her sadistic mind, Pinkie first made the way over to her mother. A mare who had always been there for her in every time of her life. The rising light of her life, she was often called.

Gentle strokes through the mare her mane were being made by Pinkie before a kiss upon the forehead was given. “Forgive me, mother, and thank you for everything,” she whispered to the mare before backing away from her again. It would have been there and then that Pinkie looked at the moonlight that fell through the curtain of the room, and release a deep sigh.

There was no way back for her. Not anymore and there never would be. With all the power in her body and soul, couldn't Pinkie stop what would be happening next. One side screamed that she should have stopped, while the other screamed back by saying it needed to be done. Sadly enough for her, the other screamer won.

With the same careful steps made over the floor, had Pinkie made it over to the side of her sleeping father and rose the knife already to cut the stallion wide open if she needed to. Silence was her biggest ally at the moment as she used every last tiny bit of it to her advantage.

The gentle snoring of the stallion entered her ears and it somehow managed to fuel her anger even more and further. With the blade still raised over her head, one massive thrust downward would have been more than enough to make an end to the life of the stallion. And that was pretty much where she was aiming for. “Night night, father,” whispered Pinkie in a tone that was just sinister and cold. Water vapor actually left her mouth before her foreleg thrust itself downward. Downward to the body of the stallion that had taken care of her since the moment she was born.

There was a shock that went through her body the very moment the knife made contact with the flesh of the stallion. A shock that caused everything before her eyes to become nothing but white of color. All the sounds, all the screams in her mind, everything became fainter until there was nothing left to hear. Nothing outside of a constant beeping of something. Something that didn't seem to have been her own heart.

~~~~

The eyes of Pinkie Pie opened themselves violent. She was almost blinded by a massive white light that shone upon her. Something seemed to be out of place within the first minute she was awake. The sights that fell in her eyes confirmed it. The earth pony released a massive screech from her lungs as she was truly terrified by the thing that she saw before her.

Pinkie laid in a bed but not one that was her own and she seemed to be hooked up against some sort of magical device. Yet perhaps the worst part of it all had to be the fact that her friends laid in the same room. Friends that were fully asleep and hooked up to those devices as well.

“W-What is going on here?!” Pinkie managed to ask as she had gathered the guts to do so. “S-Somepony help me!” Never in her life had she been so terrified as that she was then and knew only the royals could be standing by her aid if it was something bad. Which from the looks of it, seemed to be that way.

11 As cold as stone

In the cottage that neared the edge of the Everfree forest, there was one yellow coated and pink maned pegasus still fluttering through the air. She was humming some tunes to herself while she flew through the air. With the eyes closed and going towards the setting of the sun, it looked like the usually shy mare didn't had a single care in the whole wide world. Something that was rather unusual for her, but not many actually questioned her for it.

The humming would have continued to the point to where the mare herself landed on one of the treetops. For the first time that warm evening were her eyes opened again. What was revealed were the blue and green eyes that would gaze off into the distance. The strand of mane was placed behind the ear before they looked towards the wonderful sunset over the forest. In the trees themselves sat nopony else then Ponyville’s own animal caretaker: Fluttershy.

She looked and stared while the skies got redder and redder with a faint smile upon her face. The wind that was blowing in a peaceful manner was something that caused her almost to become one with the nature she was around. It almost made her forget that she was a pony to a certain extend. The mare her connection to the greener side of nature always had been a mighty one. One that shouldn't be fooled around with by anypony.

From time to time had Fluttershy felt herself more like a plant than a pony. Others would have declared her crazy right on the spot and they wouldn't be blamed. Though it was the connection to her friends that she didn't just left the place and traveled further into the woods to become one with the vegetation. Perhaps her personality also played a part into it.

Nevertheless was Fluttershy still looking at the magnificent sunset and a relaxed sigh left through her mouth. Everything seemed to be so peaceful, so serene and just so perfect. It was the best way to end a long day of taking care of everything upon her property. Some said that her work wasn't even considered as a real one. Yet the mare herself never looked up from it and just left it where it was. For her job might have been the most important one there ever had been.

Her connection with nature was truly unmatched by every single pony in the land, or at least in the areas of both Ponyville and Canterlot. Her mixed eyes of blue and green kept on gazing to how the fiery ball kept lowering itself, until everything was just dark. The darkness had once again covered the lands as she knew and loved them. It was something that gave the chilling winds of the Frozen North to make their entry into the usual warmer states of the land. It was no exception that time either. Mere seconds after the sun had set, Fluttershy could feel the shiver down her spine.

Though she wasn't just there to witness the setting of the sun. There was another thing that she wanted to see in the complete darkness of the land. Because with no lights to interfere with the scenes below was the game that was about to be played something even more enchanting that way. Patiently did the mare wait for it to happen. Her wings spread themselves gently and gave a couple of flutters to move the cold air away from her as the tail swayed from side to side.

In the far distance she heard the natural callings of many creatures and critters of the woods. Creatures and critters that had been living on their own since the dawning hour of the forest. Everfree was always what it was, forever free of everything the ponies stood for. A fact that both amazed and terrified the entire species.

~~~~

Yet the time to think about it wasn't there, the game was about to begin. In the far distance did Fluttershy heard the trembling of the ground and knew it wouldn't be long anymore. “This is it,” she whispered to herself. The mare looked into the direction where the moon would be risen from. That what she was about to see next, was something that went over all of her expectations.

All of the sudden there was a cobalt blue tailed comet which begun to travel over the skies. The only light in the heavens for a good minute before the stars themselves were being turned on. Almost like somepony flicked a switch with them. Constellations and distant stars had made their appearance again just before being realigned into their proper position. All the images that the stars themselves created were revealed to the pegasus but the big finale still had to come. And that was something she never had expected.

For in the corner of her eyes she caught something shining brightly. Something that shone in the colors that couldn't be described in any manner of actual speaking. With the main event starting, Fluttershy had turned her head over to the invading spot. There she witnessed one of Equestria’s most beautiful things. That thing being the rise of the moon itself.

Graceful it made its way over the night skies without a hitch or problem. A massive rock that was thought to be the prison of the infamous dark mare for centuries, but it was more than a prison in the eyes of Fluttershy. It was a reminder of the fact that there were always two sides to the same story. For where the sun gave light during the day to give the way, the moon did the same but in its own manner. It was a little mindset that seemed to have fascinated her more than anything. Not to mention the fact she was closely attached to the feelings of ponies. Nopony's feelings were stronger than those from the mare that was once in and on the moon.

With the moon that kept crawling up and up into the skies, it wouldn't have been long before Fluttershy was actually indulged into the rather magnificent light that the orb of rock irradiated. She loved it so much that she gave herself the time to bathe in it and released a soft but satisfied moan.

Only then did her eyes dart over the skies in an attempt to find that cobalt blue comet that she saw before. For the comet wasn't just any type of comet they would usually see in the skies. It was an artificial one. It carried somepony who had been misjudged through the ages of time. “Princess Luna, where art thou?” the pink maned pegasus whispered in a soft tone. Fluttershy seemed to have lost all the tracks of the mighty princess.

It was something that caused her to sigh deeply. As the disappearance of the mare also brought another thing to her mind, Rarity. The ivory unicorn was one of her best friends that she could have ever had. The disappearance and the lack of searching to her were consuming the pegasus from the inside out. Though there wasn't anything that she could be doing against it. Her lack of courage was something that was to blame for it, though she never blamed herself for the events as they had happened.

“I do not know where you are, but I do hope that you are safe out there, Rarity, may we cross paths one day again,” whispered Fluttershy before her wings started to flutter even more. Something that resulted in the mare getting airborne. She then flew down with the tree trunk beneath her. One that she reached after a couple seconds of flight. Fluttershy managed to land back upon her hooves and giggled a bit while she saw a set of flowers that weren't usually seen.

Her eyes were looking at a couple of the few flowers that would glow in the light of the moon. Most flowers and plants worked by bathing in sunlight, but some did it by bathing in the moon’s powerful light. They were unique to the world of plants. They were a true sight to behold. Not to mention that they also guided the mare back to the edge of the forest. Guiders light, were the flowers usually called. Though their real name was a lot more simpler: lunar flower.

~~~~

Fluttershy left the woods for what they were. The sounds that were being created and the light cast over it by the moon and stars was something that both intrigued her and frightened her. She stood there in doubt for a couple of seconds before retreating back to her cottage. The day was long done and the following one she would be having an even busies day for herself.

With the door of the cottage falling shut behind her, did the yellow coated pegasus look over the room she was in. Fluttershy gave a small but content nod to herself. With most of the critters present already sleeping, she blew out the candles one by one. Afterwards she would be tiptoeing on her hooves through the place and up the staircase to her own room.

A room in which her bed was almost calling her name. Shrouded in darkness and only using the moonlight to help her out a bit, the pegasus managed to crawl into her bed and snuggled up against the blankets before her eyes were closed. Though for a minute or two did the ears continued to twitch around as they listened to every sound that could be heard among the darkness.

All that she caught were the snoring of some sleeping animals, including her pet bunny, Angel. The pegasus was more than content with the sounds that she heard left and right of her. Fluttershy herself even fell asleep in a deep, deep sleep. Her near silent snoring was among one of the weakest sounds in the cottage, but also one of the most peaceful.

When the rays of the sun itself cast themselves through the curtains and unto the still sleeping face of Fluttershy, the mare woke up with a loud yawn as she rose up from the pillow. While the mane was literally going into every direction, her forelegs stretched themselves a little bit. The bones were snapped back into their respectable places with some uncomfortable cracks. The eyes were opened and the hooves were brought into them to remove any of the annoying sand of sleep that had collected itself within and near them.

Even though the day looked like a beauty already, waking up always had a fair bit of trouble for the pegasus. The only manner to make sure that it wouldn't become a problem for her was to take a long and hot shower before doing anything else. It seemed painful in her eyes that she placed herself before the animals, but there had been times it went wrong with their feeding just because she hadn't woken up properly.

So after a couple smacks of her mouth were the blankets removed from the body and a breeze of cool air started to travel over her belly and hind legs. A shiver that almost yelled ‘good morning’ to her was send down the spine. It caused her wings to spring open wide. “E-Every, single, time,” muttered Fluttershy to herself before she left the bed. She tucked the almost golden feathered wings back against her body.

The yellow pegasus left the room for what it was. She wandered over to the bathroom where she started on her daily routine. First were the teeth brushed before the place was prepared for the shower. A couple of towels were placed upon the ground while another one was placed in hoofdistance from the curtain. Everything was set for herself. But there was this hunching feeling that her mane reached a place it shouldn't have been, or that there was something walking upon it.

Uncertain to what it actually was had the pegasus turned herself around and was treated with the scare for her life. For the moment she had turned herself around, there was a secondary face that could be seen just staring over her shoulder for a fraction of a second.

~~~~

With a set of wide eyes did the mare look over to the mirror and couldn't believe a single thing of what she just had seen. It seemed like it was just impossible, yet she swore on the fact that she had seen it. “Am, am I, going crazy?” she whispered to herself. Fluttershy had not even the slightest of clues anymore. Perhaps she was losing her mind faster than she could have ever imagined. “…Or was it, a dream?” Anything could have been possible at that point for her.

Though the theory didn't seem to be all too farfetched, since she had just woken up of course. Either way and whatever it happened to be, the pegasus tried to recall the face of the being in the mirror. She knew it was hinting towards Rarity herself for some reason. Though the looks didn't quite matched up together. Perhaps it was Rarity, perhaps it wasn't. The pegasus couldn't truly judge on the fact of just what it was. If she had to be honest with herself, she didn’t wanted to either.

In the early morning it happened to be something that caused her mind to go into overdrive, which in return caused a headache for the mare. Fluttershy wanted to continue upon the train of thought but managed to set it out of her head as she closed the shower curtain behind her. For the moment it was just her and her alone.

The warm waters were leaving the head and she felt herself just so good as they hit her body. That stream of hot, steaming water was just the thing that she was needing that early in the morning. It managed to not only wake her body, but also to clear her mind. Resulting in the horrifying image in the mirror, to almost be forgotten. It was stored somewhere in the back of her head, in a place where nopony could reach it and even she had trouble getting to it. Perhaps, that was only a good thing.

Seconds turned into minutes though. After having spent more than half an hour under the shower, Fluttershy had washed her body almost as a whole. She was busy getting the last remains of the shampoo out of her mane. A mane that was perfect in pretty much all the ways for her, with the exception when it was wet. From time to time she could curse the sheer length and thus volume it carried with it. Though it was something that made her, her.

In the end the curtain was opened again and Fluttershy herself stepped into a steam filled bathroom. It was something that caused her to giggle softly before she started to dry herself off the best she could. Only then she would be hoisting herself into her bathrobe and leave the room for the little mess that it happened to be.

Usually she would be helping the creatures around her place to find their food and she wanted to it that day as well, but something deep inside of her spoke that they should be doing it on their own. And for once had the pegasus actually agreed upon that matter. Thus letting all of the creatures search their own food. It was a good thing that most of them originated and hailed from the woods of Everfree.

Even though Fluttershy was always feeding them, they had never forgotten on the manner of how to get their own food. Which was a thing that calmed the mare down by a whole lot in more than one way. With the silence that had fallen over the cottage as all of the critters were on the hunt, the mare herself walked downstairs in order to make some breakfast for herself.

She came downstairs and the entire living room indulged into nothing more but sunlight and the plays of light that were being made by it. All things combined made something marvelous. It was something that caused an enormous smile to form itself upon the face of Fluttershy before she giggled softly at it. Scenes and games were being played out by the dancing light of the morning sun.

Though much attention to it wasn't given as the always bossy Angel knocked against one of the forelegs of the mare. Something that resulted in her breaking away from the play and down to the bunny himself. “Oh Angel, you know I won’t be forgetting you when it comes down to breakfast right? I’ll get started on it right away,” she spoke up before entering the kitchen and heard her own tummy rumble. It was a sound that caused the bunny to snicker to himself as he fell upon his back with tears of joy in the eyes. “Don’t laugh!”

~~~~

Some time had been going by before Fluttershy could be found on a place that seemed to be rather familiar to her. Stronger even, it was a spot of grass where she always could be found if she wanted to snuggle with the animals or overall just wanted to have a quiet day. That day happened to be one of them. With a bear, a deer, a bunny family and some birds all lying around her, the pegasus herself was bathing in the warm sunlight.

For her, that was what life was all about. To be living in harmony and enjoying that what you have in common. And which animal –outside of the obvious ones– didn't like to lay in the sun and do nothing? It was common ground and every soul present just relaxed for the time being. Although the attire of Fluttershy had changed from her bathrobe into just nothing anymore. The day seemed perfect without a single cloud in the air and the animals were calm as well.

It was the type of day that she wouldn't be getting much in a year of her work, but when the opportunity was given to her, she took it with both of her hooves. Most of her friends applaud her for the ability of even being able to do it, but she never too much credit for the deeds and events that she had done. To her it felt like a second nature which was something almost every pony accepted from her.

Even though she and her animal friends laid calmly in the sun, the bear himself couldn't help himself any longer and fell into a deep sleep. Something that resulted in a few massive snores at first before Fluttershy opened her mouth again. “Uhm, Mr. Bear, would you be so kind to, lower your volume, please?” she asked in her kindest and most polite tone. Her eyes had opened themselves and they looked upside down to the creature with a faint smile.

The bear himself woke up from the sudden talk to him and looked back at her with a sleepy look before he nodded. “Thank you,” replied Fluttershy before a squee followed her. Then the bear just crashed back to earth. He didn’t have any energy to do anything else on that warm, sunny day then baking under it. Not that he complained one bit about it though.

Where usually the storm would rage inside her head with the very thoughts on the manner of just how every single critter would be making it, that very same hurricane of thoughts had reduced itself into nothing more but a gentle breeze. The head turned itself back towards the sun with closed eyes. Just the warmth that it was giving off was something that she seemed to be enjoying more than anything. The high summer time was something marvelous for Fluttershy. Everything could be taken a lot more calmly and with a little bit more of a laid-back attitude.

But the cherry on the cake had to be the wonderful fact that Angel suddenly crawled upon the belly of Fluttershy. With care had he made himself comfortable right there. He curled up on top of the mare her belly and gave a soft yawn before falling peacefully asleep. A thing which the pegasus herself would be doing herself as well.

~~~~

Minutes turned into a good set of hours as the weather never seemed to have changed whatsoever and all of the critters and animals laid both calm and peaceful asleep. Nothing seemed to have been able to go wrong that particular day. That was until something happened. And it was something that went through the marrow and bone of Fluttershy herself. Though out of nowhere there was the screech of a critter. One that brought her back out of her sleep and sit upright in the grass.

With a worried expression had she glanced into the very direction out of which the cry came from. Fluttershy saw that it was the place of her horrors. Everfree forest itself. “Oh no, no, no, no,” she whispered to herself. The sounds continued to indulge themselves in her ears. They almost drilled themselves right into her skull. The cries for help became unbearable but before the mare could even do anything. The screeching stopped before a powerful intimidating and unknown hiss began to leave from the forest.

A hiss that didn't seem to be of changeling origin and thus managed to send a stone cold shiver down the mare her spine. “A-And I was having such a great day,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. She gathered the strength to stand up from her spot. She had completely forgotten about Angel though. The bunny was not only flipped off of her belly, but also did three barrel rolls before he ended up face flat into the grass below.

A little angered by the events, did he managed to get his head free again and looked to the mare. He wanted to kick her leg for the deed. Yet the opportunity was never given to him. Fluttershy was already galloping away. But his motions were still being made in order to kick her.

Thus the only thing that could have happened was the fact that Angel kicked nothing but empty air and landed flat on his back. Something which caused the bear to chuckle to himself. The bunny got back up to show the bear his fist and mutter something along the lines of ‘shut up.’ Not that it helped all that much to begin with sadly enough.

Having turned her pace from a trot into a gallop, Fluttershy was making her way through the trees to go to the location of just where she heard the cry for help and the terrifying hiss. She was scared to death for certain. Yet it wouldn't stop her in order to save an innocent animal. Her will was truly stronger than her fears when it eventually came down on it. But whether or not that was a good thing, needed to be discovered.

Darker and darker had the atmosphere seemed to have become the more she ventured into the woods of Everfree. Panting deeply to herself but still going into the strong to the location, Fluttershy was determined to find the helpless critter. Over the years she had gained some knowledge of the woods and knew that it was scattered with small openings of just grass. No trees or anything the like, just pain grass. If the creature would have gotten the critter, it would have been on one of those spots.

At least, that was what she hoped in order to get an answer to her questions. Eventually did the galloping came to a hold. She panted deep to catch her breath. Never had Fluttershy expected that she would be running that far into the woods for whatever reason. She had found it though. She had come to the very place of just where she needed to be. A small opening in the dense forest roof.

The scene seemed almost magical as a column of sunlight went straight down, illuminating the scene of the crime. But what fell into the eyes of Fluttershy wasn't something that she could even remotely have expected. For the scene seemed to be haunted, as of a dark spirit suddenly had taken possession unto the place.

With trembling legs of her own fears and frights, the pegasus dared to inch forward on her own. Knowing that there wasn't any back up, she started to realize just how stupid the plan of her was but it didn't took away of the urge of the situation. She needed to save the creature for as much as she could. Even if it meant risking her own life and limbs.

While inching closer and closer, the mare gulped a little bit before she dared to speak up her words. “H-Hello, can, can you hear me?” she squeaked up towards the bottom of the light column. But even after a few seconds of waiting there was not a single sound and the mare started to fear for the worst possible thing to have happened.

Her nightmares became true. She dared to look down and thus discovered the horrifying truth behind the matter. In her blue and green rimmed eyes she caught the horrible sight of a full grown mother rabbit with her neck snapped. It was more than enough to make Fluttershy cry a couple of silent tears. She kept all life sacred and understood how nature worked in the woods.

But from the body was nothing eaten, nothing cut off. The only logical conclusion was that it wasn't killed for food, but for something much more brutal. “C-Changelings d-don’t kill before extracting emotions, n-nor do they hiss, l-like that,” Fluttershy explained herself as she didn't wanted to see the facts under her own eyes. She couldn't see them that way but leaving the scene like that wasn't an option either.

No, the reason this rabbit was killed off, was because of one sickening reason that she dared to speak aloud to the column of sunlight. “Sport...” It made her sick to the degree of almost wanting to puke her stomach empty. Never in her life had she understood the reasoning behind hunting for sport and perhaps, she never would. Yet as much as it fueled her sadness, so did it fuel her anger and she looked around.

Her eyes went around and round in order to see anything through the barrier of leaves that seemed to be like the killer. But the longer she stared, the more the woods appeared to be nothing but the same. It seemed to be impossible, but no matter in which direction she turned herself, every part just looked the same. The natural aspect seemed to be removed.

Gone was the anger in her eyes and gone was the sadness. They had been making place for something else instead. Something that was considerable more frightening to Fluttershy. The feeling of being utterly lost come to her. It didn't matter to where she looked, everything seemed to be the exact same when it came down to it. “N-No! This, this isn't happening… This is not happening!” the pegasus explained before she just darted off.

Without having looked to just where she had ran off to, Fluttershy started to gallop once again. All in order to escape the fate that she otherwise would be been suffering on that spot. Little did she knew, that she was walking out of the frying pan and straight into the fires themselves.

The direction she ran into wasn't towards her cottage. Instead it was going deeper into the woods. In her haste to escape the haunted place had she turned herself the wrong way around and thus ended up racing for her dear life straight to the heart of Everfree. Straight into a place where no many ponies have even dared to venture nor explore. A place where a mysterious tribe of ponies lived as they had done thousands of years. Unchanged and savaged, reasoning was not an option with the creatures Fluttershy would encounter next.

For she would be running into the last meeting of her life.

~~~~

Galloping over rock and under branch while the mare kept her eyes closed. Every so often she opened them to make sure she wasn't running in circles again. Her feelings of heading were fairly much nonexistent at that point. It felt to her like she was literally going all over the place. Left to right, up and down, inside out even. Nothing made sense of where she was going.

That was until she entered a place she should have stayed away. The calming sunlight once again could be felt upon her coat. With the eyes still closed did the pink maned mare came to a standstill. Fluttershy shivered from head to tail and originally didn’t dare to open her eyes. Her ears caught something much, much more terrifying. They caught a slithering over rock like a snake. Only the snake she heard had to be the size of a pony. There was only one type of pony she had ever heard of had such an ability treat.

It wasn't something she was happy about. They were supposed to be a myth, a legend to make sure that nopony would travel too far into Everfree. But on that moment were all the myths and legends reduced to nothing more but simple shambles of a concealed truth. A truth that never should have been discovered in the first place.

The slithering sounds of a heavy body seemed to be coming closer and closer to her. All the way up to the point she felt the cold breath going down her neck. The tickles of a wet something upon her cheek. Fluttershy yelped on the spot but seemed to be frozen with her muscles. Terrified for her life, the pegasus could only hope that it was a bad dream. A dream to which she would be waking up from preferred sooner than later.

While the cold breath slowly moved away again did the slithering also seem to be making its gap between her. But that didn't mean she was safe. For at least three more bodies could be heard moving over a rock like surface as well as the grass and twigs below. She wanted to open her eyes so badly, but knew the legends all too well. Instead, she managed to shiver some words out. “Y-You are t-them, r-right? T-The creatures of, of Everfree?”

The words were out and all of the slithering stopped abruptly. With the exception of one. One of the creatures seemed to be turning itself around and closing in the distance between Fluttershy and itself. It was an action that made the mare help again as she tried to keep her wings under control and thus not to have them spread in terror.

“I can sssmell your fear, little one,” a taunting and low pitched feminine voice spoke up just before Fluttershy felt the cold breath down her neck again. “You mussst be utterly terrified sssince you have sssearched usss out. The only quessstion is going to be, why?” The words were ended with a hiss of a strange satisfaction that went from right to left in her neck. Almost as if the creature itself, or at least the head of it, traveled that way.

“I, I didn't do it on purpose! I, I was looking at a recently killed mother rabbit when I lost my way! I had no intention of f-finding you at all!” the pegasus yelped out in her own defense. Though she couldn't hold her wings anymore. The fears and frights for the unbearable truth had become too much for her. She was even at the point of crying.

What sadly enough happened was that both of her wings sprung open with full force. Yet it was her left wing that managed to actually hit something. That very something made the mare her believes shatter like it was nothing. For it hit something that wasn't made out of fur and hide though. No, that what her wing managed to hit was something that was made out of scales like a fish or a reptile. “Oh no…” Fluttershy mumbled to herself just she released a gulp.

“Wasss that an attack?!” the voice returned to her angry. “You dare to attack one of usss?! You ssshall pay for your crime!” Before the pegasus could even react to what was going on, she felt a crushing weight being placed upon her back. One that forced her down to the ground. To her it felt like something had punched her right on the spinal cord and thus forced her down. Yet with her head falling down unto the grass, the pink maned mare finally opened up her eyes in response. At first she saw nothing because of the immense dose of light that she saw. Yet slowly her eyes adjusted to it.

Not that it is kept the creatures waiting though. One of them slithered back up in front of her. In her eyes it seemed to be just this massive black blob of darkness. “SSSaying you weren't looking for usss, but then releasssing an attack without mercy,” the creature in front of her spoke.

Slow but sure did the eyes if the mare managed to re-adjust themselves to the levels of light that were in the area. Though wit it did the truth came finally to light. Because on front of her stood the creature that was the work of the inner circles of Tartarus itself. “No, no, no, no, this can’t be true!” Fluttershy spoke up. She thought that her own eyes were actually lying to her. Everything she saw all added up to nothing but fuel for her nightmares. The mare started to wish even harder upon the fact that it was all a dream that she was suffering.

Sadly enough for her, it was not a dream at all. What she had encountered was the reality as bareboned as it ever would have gotten. In her ears she caught once again how the slithering towards her had been made before she felt the stone cold, scaly hoof upon her forehead which pushed it slightly up. “Can’t believe your own eyesss now, can you? Hmhmha, many can’t upon firssst sight. Mossstly becaussse they can’t tell their tale anymore. But what do you think, we are?” the feminine voice spoke up in a haunting tone. One that managed to get even more shivers down the spine of Fluttershy.

“It, it wasn't an attack, my wings a-aren't that solid, I didn't mean to,” the pegasus pleaded almost for her life. In her ears she heard another being that slithered closer up to her as well.

The voice and tone in which it spoke, seemed to be that of a stallion. “SSShe didn't asssk for a plea, ssshe asssked for a calling of namesss! Anssswer her!” His tone was brutal and rough and it alone seemed to be breaking the bones of Fluttershy. Luckily had the other one removed the hoof off of her forehead and started to hiss and wheeze against the male speaker. That was the moment where Fluttershy dared to open her eyes again. She would have had the best possible look at the creatures she was up against.

~~~~

That what she saw was everything but pretty. The thick, green scaled, snake like tail that started out small before going onward and upwards. It ended up in the scaled upper body of a pony, complete with forelegs and all. Yet perhaps the biggest unusual change had to be the mane. Instead of hair, the creature with the mare-like body build had snakes for it. That was more than enough to determine the fact of just what they were. “G-Gor, gorgonies,” Fluttershy whispered. She opened both of her eyes and tried to stand up.

The other creature slithered back up to the position where he came from as the one Fluttershy had met first turned itself around and looked straight at the ears of the mare. “Very good, your knowledge ssseemsss to be better than expected. Though, forgive my brother, he’sss, ssshall we sssay, thick in the head,” she spoke up before the entire body was turned to face Fluttershy.

“I, I answered your question, will, will you let me go now? A, a feathered wing a-against a scale, is not a match. W-With all due respect, I, I never could e-even hurt you even if I t-tried,” the yellow pegasus pleaded for her life. Fluttershy spoke her most humblest of apologizes to the one that seemed to be tribe leader. Fluttershy knew one thing about the creatures and that was to never look them straight in the eyes. So she only looked at the gorgony from the chin downward.

“Hmhmhm, if it wasss only that easssy. My brothersss and sssissstersss are hungering for pony ssstone,” the gorgony replied to her with a sickening grin clearly visible upon her face.

“W-What?!” was the only thing Fluttershy managed to bring out.

Though before she could be doing anything, it was too late already. The eyes of the gorgony and her own eyes met one another in an instant. Much like the cockatrice ability to stone its enemy that it looked in the eyes, so could a gorgony. Which was exactly what was happening to Fluttershy.

Almost in an instant did the magic of the gorgonies came into play. The pegasus felt that her hooves became heavier and heavier with each rapid passing heartbeat. The stone traveled further up her legs at a rate not even a cockatrice would have been able to cast her into stone. Not to mention all the muscles that she lost one by one in a matter of seconds.

A few minutes ago she was still a free mare, the other moment she was almost cast completely in stone. Perhaps the worst of it all, had to be the moment where her head was almost cast into it. Her eyes could still move around like nothing happened. And it was then that she saw the worst possible thing that could have happened.

For a moment had the face of the gorgony changed into that same face she saw earlier that same morning in her own bathroom mirror. But not only that, the body of the serpent like pony spun itself around with a powerful blow. Which resulted in the tail being flung forward and straight for her stone back.

The eyes of the mare went as wide as they were allowed. She screamed on the top of her lungs. But there was nothing that could have stopped it from hitting her body.

~~~~

With a massive shock did the eyes of Fluttershy open themselves. She began to scream like mad. Only to then erupt out in tears and comforted herself with words. “It was a dream, it was a dream, it was a dream,” she continued to speak to herself. Though little did she knew that Pinkie Pie was looking at her from another bed. A bed from which she had woken up on ten minutes earlier.

Something wasn't right in the eyes if the party mare. Though her own cries for a doctor weren't heard by any. And seeing Fluttershy in the state she was, it seemed to be best to keep her own mouth shut for the time being. The cerulean blue rimmed eyes looked to her right and saw both Twilight and Rainbow lying asleep with sweat traveling down their forehead. While right in front of her laid Applejack, who constantly shook her head from side to side.

Author's Note

I have wanted to use the gorgony species for such a long time by now. Suppose that this will have to do for the time being.

12 For whom the bell tolls

All day long had the sun been burning on their backs and the land been good to them. Both Applejack and Big Macintosh watched over the setting sun with a smile on their faces. They gazed a little bit over the orchard. During the whole of the day had the two been working on the apple trees. They would have harvested them, as well as maintaining them. It was something that they had been doing since the day they were old enough to walk.

It had been their life ever since and nothing would ever be changing that fact for the both of them. “Sis, we just did a mighty fine job out there,” the red stallion replied to the cowgirl. Who in return flicked her hat backwards. She gave a simple nod in return while her back leaned against the trunk of a tree. The both of his forelegs were placed over the fence.

“E’yup, bucked apples the whole day, sales should be going through the roof tomorrow. Some of them apples looked juicy as could be. Now just hope them fruit bats ain’t coming again… ‘Member last time they paid us a, little visit?” Applejack spoke to her brother. Her green rimmed eyes looked towards the setting sun.

“Oh yeah, don’t have to tell me ‘bout that. Ah was there first hoof for yar information. Almost a quarter of the Acres just gone in the clap of a hoof,” replied Big Mac. He remembered that ungrateful night all those years ago. “Silent night it was, until those vermin came along. It's their time again, Ah feel it in the air and Granny has it in her bones again.”

“Well, at least we now have those spells from Twi to protect us a little bit,” the cowgirl smirked to her bigger brother after she had turned her head over to his side. The red stallion looked back at her and nodded softly on his own. “So we should be safe, right?”

“Can’t tell for sure, not until that thing rises the following morning.” He nudged his head into the general direction of the sun. His sister almost immediately understood the silent message. “Shall we go in? Granny’s been cooking up again. Not to mention, Ah reckon Apple Bloom is going to have trouble again with the shower.”

Those words managed to rise some curiosity within Applejack. “Hm? Still not fixed that waterline, Mac?” the cowgirl asked with a questioning gaze in her eyes. It had been a problem that was plaguing the farm for quite the while. Something or somepony seemed to be draining their water supply and it made each of the family members everything but happy.

“Working on it, but Ah think it are those Diamond Dogs that are at it again. Need to ask Rarity sooner or later to sniff ‘em out for me. Ever since she got captured by them, her nose seems to be smelling them,” Big Mac said. He turned himself around and left the fence for what it was.

Applejack on the other end just removed herself from the tree trunk and landed upon all four of her hooves again. Slowly she turned her body over to the farm house in the distance and took the first few steps. Yet listening to his words, caused her to smirk a little bit. “Ya sure it ain't going to be a date with that drama queen?” she spoke up in a teasing tone. A tone that was almost guaranteed to make Big Mac nervous.

Within seconds had the stallion turned his head around with a bright red blush over his own red coat, followed by an awkward smile. “Maybe,” he said in his typical tone. As much as his sister could tease and pester him, he could return it fair and square to her.

“Ah’m telling ya, if she comes to live with us at one point, Ah ain't picking her excuses ‘bout not working on the farm,” Applejack spoke up before they both erupted out in a laughter and Mac wrapped one of his forelegs over the back of his sister.

“Sis, Ah’ll make sure she never gets to live with us,” Big Mac returned to her. All of the sudden was Applejack pulled in a bit closer for a tight hug. “Besides, Ah already have enough mares Ah need to keep in check ‘round here. Granny, Bloom, you.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack countered almost right away after she heard his words. “Are ya implying what Ah think ya’re?”

With the semi-serious look that was given to him, Big Macintosh couldn't do much else than to release a well meant snicker to his sister. The look that she gave in her eyes was just something so priceless, that he even had to wipe away a small tear from his eyes. “Ah ain't implying anything here, Jackie. Just telling ya the truth. One stallion and three mares to look after, it ain't exactly the easiest job in the world. Especially when one is as stubborn as an honest mule.”

On that moment did Applejack’s face drop itself a little bit. Just before she chuckled herself. “Oh, yeah, ‘bout that, hehehe. Perhaps Ah am a little bit stubborn, sometimes,” she then countered. It didn't matter anymore to her though. She had been made black by her bigger brother already. So the only thing she really could do was to just go with it. Not to mention the fact that she knew he didn't mean the words he spoke against her. Sibling rivalry on a smaller scale was it often referred to by others. Especially the friends of Applejack.

“Ah’m starving, ya know what’s for dinner by any chance?” Applejack asked as they had almost reached the front porch of the house they both called home for so many years.

But in response to the question, all she received was a shake of his head. “Nope, Ah’m afraid Ah don’t know that.” Then his nose started to do some work as he sniffed the air a couple of times and couldn't truly believe the thing he smelled. “Potatoes? Well that’s gonna be interesting.”

Applejack shook her head a couple of times as she almost didn't believe the words that he spoke. “P-Potatoes? Now Ah've seen everything,” she mumbled to herself before proceeding through the door and into the house. Little did she knew, just what would have been served on their dinner table that very evening.

~~~~

Time came and went when Applejack leaned against the sill of her bedroom window and sighed a little bit. The skies were filled with the stars and the moon shining brightly there was a faint smile could be found below the muzzle of the mare. She seemed to have been content with her life as it was. Who would disagree with that fact? She had everything her heart would have desired.

The smile was cracked up a little bit further even before she jumped away from the sill. Slowly she wandered over to her bed to get some much needed rest. The following morning would be a busy day for her, as well as her little sister. Though the next day seemed to be so far away within that moment in time. There was no need to trouble herself with it just yet.

Applejack had crawled inside of her bed and took her hat off of the blanket for a moment. She just held it in her hooves. That very hat had determined her personality for years already and through time, one usually didn't saw the other without. It had seen its fair share of adventure and every time she thought it was about to fail her, it managed to keep itself together.

Almost as if it was a true wonder hat. Not that the mare complained about it though. She had so many fond memories thanks to it already, but there would be coming just so many more if she wanted. That was the very spirit that the cowgirl had. She wanted to gain more memories, she wanted to do more things. There was a lot that could be said about Applejack, but both honest and determined were two words that would describe her at best.

The smile still occupied her face as she placed the hat on her nightstand and snuggled in against the blankets and her pillow. She was tired as all ponies could ever be. While her green rimmed eyes closed themselves off from the world, it didn't took her all too long before she was off into the realm of the dreams. Dreams that were created by nopony else then the princess of the night herself. But little did she knew, that there were going to be turn and twists everywhere.

~~~~

The night came and went fairly much like every other day and without any nasty surprises. Weren't it for the fact that Applejack woke up a bit more tired than she usually would. Though it wasn't anything to bow down or new for her. It was the biggest day of the week for her and preparations just had to be made by the lots. The cowgirl managed to hoist herself out of bed and calmly left her room in order to make the small journey to the bathroom.

She would locked the door behind her and started on her early morning routine. Everything got done from her teeth to the mane and tail. Applejack almost looked like the role model farmer after she left the bathroom again. She then glanced out of the only window on the hallway. The darkness still consumed the land and it indicated her that everything was still going on schedule. Not to mention that a splash of cold water to the face seemed to have done some miracles as well. For she felt herself everything but tired anymore.

Though the time to think about it wasn't there. Applejack made a rather quick and simple breakfast for herself in the kitchen. One slice of bread with cheese and a glass of apple juice would have been consumed in order to start the day, it had been her morning starter for years by then. It didn’t seem like she would be changing it any time soon though.

Every single pony inside of the house and in pretty much the whole of Equestria still being vast asleep. Applejack was one of the very few who was wide awake and ready to work. Which began by loading the sacks of apples on the cart for the market that would be starting in an hour or six. Her hooves had managed to carry her over to the barn with a small hop into them. She felt herself truly on top of the world and if she could be taking on both the celestial and lunar guards with nothing but her bare hooves.

~~~~

It was something that had showed itself in the speed with which she managed to fill the cart up. Everything seemed to be done as quick as possible, because when the cowgirl was done, she wiped some of the sweat off of her forehead and leaned against the side. Only to look right past the doors of the barn and into a still darkened Equestria.

It was something that caused her to smile and chuckle at the same time. “Well who would have thought! Woohee, never got the job cleared that fast, not with this amount of bags anyway,” the mare spoke proudly to herself before bumping her chest with a forehoof. The scene almost seemed like she gave herself a well-deserved pat on the back. Though the massive amount of work that she had moved in apparently such a short amount of time had caused her to run on nothing more but just fumes of her breakfast. All the energy she had gotten was already spent.

The work she had moved had made her tired again. With the moon still out there, a quick little shuteye didn't seem to be all that harmful in her eyes. Which was in fact the thing she was going to do. After a small yawn was released, the body of the mare had dropped itself in a stack of hay and she curled up into a ball of fur. Mere seconds later did the soft snoring of Applejack fill the barn. If any of the family members needed her, she wouldn't be that hard to miss.

Though during her sleep, there was the sudden feeling of something being wrong. Something almost fundamentally wrong that caused her to turn and twist in her sleep. It wasn't anything that she normally had when being asleep. Normally she would have been too tired to even more a muscle, let alone think. But that time it was different, something didn't add up for her and it drove her crazy to say the least.

From time to time she shocked up out of her quick sleeps but with the moon still being up even after the fifth time. The mare had begun to wonder just how long she had actually slept between each of the waking. And why was there that faint hint of burned wood in her nose? It couldn't be explained by anything, but it was just there and didn't sat her well.

So in order to get rid of any paranoid ideas or hallucinations, Applejack began on the work that was usually reserved for her brother to be doing. A thing which happened to be plowing the land. It was a tough job for certain. It would at least would keep her busy until the sun would rise once more. If it would have risen up to begin with.

Applejack strapped herself inside of the harness. She used every ounce of muscle power that she had in order to move the plow through the soils. The mare crawled forth inch by inch while her eyes were often looking at the stars. Instead of the distance she still needed to be going. Perhaps it was a good thing that she did that. Every single that that she looked up towards the stars, there was another, little thing that was revealed to her.

“What in all hay’s name is going here? Unicorns at it again?” the mare muttered after she had noticed something unusual about the skies. Something that made her stop plowing all together and even step out of the harness. Everything that Applejack saw in the heavens high above her, were almost the exact same as they were on the moment that she went to bed the other night.

It caused for utter confusion inside of the cowgirl as she started to turn around and look at the different corners of the wind. Applejack was almost certain that she had been standing in the wrong way and thus read the directions wrong. But her feelings of direction were all too perfect. She wasn't standing in any wrong direction or anything but the moon and the stars just hadn't moved in hours to end. “Now what in tarnation’s going on here?! Luna been pissed again?” she questioned to herself while going after the available information. But with the moon locked in its position, it also caused the entire feeling of time to have just disappeared from the earth pony.

Perhaps that was why it didn't feel like much time had passed between the naps she had made in the barn earlier. Perhaps that was why there was nopony else out there. They all must have thought about the same thing, that the moon was still out and that it was still in the night.

It seemed the most logical answer to her. Though the moment she looked away from the moon itself and to the house where the rest of her family was still asleep, two sapphire blue irises revealed themselves among the stars up high. As if they had always been there, but their light was only visible for the fraction of a second. After it, it was all just dim again.

“This ain't Luna’s work, now is it? Luna wouldn't be doing such things, would she? Nah, this, this has to be a trick played by Nightmare Moon or Discord. Ya never know where it goes with that clown,” mumbled Applejack to herself. It was done in order to give herself some answers to the seemingly impossible questions. “Ah need to warn the others, now.”

With those words spoken into the thin air had the cowgirl left the land and plow for what they were. Her green rimmed eyes moved themselves over to the house and gave a powerful nod to herself. Before she even knew it, her hooves were galloping over to the place. All while that scent of something being burned pierced itself deeper into her nose.

A scent that was being excused by something that stood on the stove for far too long and would in fact be, the first thing she wanted to find out once inside.

~~~~

Her legs carried her over to the kitchen of the house in the darkness and could still smell the burning scent. But the moment she looked on both the stove and inside of the oven, there was nothing that Applejack could see that could possibly be leading to the source. “…What in tarnation?” the mare mumbled to herself before the search continued further on. At least the gas was off in the kitchen. Which meant that it wasn't Granny Smith who had tried cooking again in the early morning.

It still didn't felt good to her at all. “Gran? Mac? Bloom? Any of y'all hearing me?” she called out from the kitchen in a raised voice. A voice that would be powerful enough to travel through the ceiling of the building. A voice which thus came over to the rooms where the other family members were asleep. At least, that was what she thought in her head.

In silence from her own had Applejack waited a couple of seconds before she called out to them again. Though once more, there wasn't nopony who heeded her call. It was beginning to scare the earth pony a little bit. Or perhaps more than she would have liked to admit to what was going on. The silence wasn't something she was used to, or ever would get to, for that matter.

Then did Applejack gave her ears the opportunity to do the thing they were really good at. That thing was to listen. They just listened for even the smallest sound that was being made inside of the house. It was just as silent as the grave in every last little corner. Not even the mice nor Winona the dog could be heard. It was in that stone cold silence that Applejack gained a stone cold shiver down her spine. For the situation only looked more and more somber from there on out.

“What’s going on here..?” she question to not only herself, but also the house. Yet the only manner of finding the truth to any kind, was to go on an investigation of her own. Whether she liked it or not, it had to happen. She was determined to find the proof of what just had happened to not only herself, but her family as well. Applejack needed to inspect the upper levels. In fact, she needed to inspect the rooms that they slept in. “What’s going on here, for real?”

Inspecting their room wasn’t something she was looking forward to. Though it did mean would be having some more confirmation of the events. With a deep sigh had her eyes turned back up again before another nod was given. It needed to be done and she knew it all too well. Whether she liked it or not, it was the only way.

Her hooves brought her all the way up the stairs. Applejack walked almost at the tips of her hooves during her ascend. The house was filled with silence. She tried to be as silent as possible as well. Probably before fighting for her life just to get back out. “For crying aloud, Ah can be in a cheap movie flick for all Ah know,” was just one of the few comments Applejack whispered to herself before she was finally at the top of the staircase.

The green rimmed eyes looked to both sides and noticed how the only two doors that were actually open. Two doors which happened to be the door leading to her own bedroom and the bathroom. All the others were closed, indicating that they hadn't even come out of bed yet. It was a thing that gave the earth pony a mixture of feelings through her mind and soul. At one end she was happy that they still could be inside of their rooms. But the other one was a bit more sinister. With the scent of a fire or something burning still filling itself in her nose, who knew just what she would be finding behind the doors?

All that the cowgirl could be doing was to hope for the best and pray on a miracle to happen for her. One that would be in her favor, that was. With a shake of her head did the mare turned herself over to the room where her beloved grandmother slept. She walked quietly over to the door she resided behind. Applejack didn’t wanted to disturb any privacy that the elder mare. So the mare first placed her ear against the door. She then closed her eyes in order to just listen to any sound.

She was hoping to hear the sound of snoring to come out of there. A thing that had caused the mare to set the hopes high already. Though all of those hopes were being crushed within an instant. Not even a breeze that went through the room could be heard. It truly unsettled the cowgirl. As a final resort before breaking into the room, she decided to look through the keyhole.

When she looked through the hole was the darkness of the room and just a little bit of moonlight could be seen. Though it wasn't enough to determine whether or not Granny Smith was still in the room or not. So the option that she didn't wanted to do, had to be done. Her hoof placed itself on the doorknob. Which it began to turn it to the other way. With a soft click had the door opened itself. Applejack released a small gulp before she continued to open the thing even further.

What she was presented with was the room of Granny Smith as she had known it for years. A room fairly much unchanged through time itself and the cowgirl took a couple more steps into the room. Her eyes looked all over the place in the vague hope to find her beloved, aged grandmother somewhere. But in a room of that size, one not much bigger than a standard bedroom with one exit, losing somepony inside of it seemed to be impossible. It resulted in Applejack having to come to the conclusion that her grandmother wasn't just gone, but had vanished from the face of the land.

With the realization that had hit her, the mare had almost immediately left the room. She left the door behind her open just before she lowered through her hunches. The feeling of vomiting was the one that dominated her stomach. Yet the strength was there to keep everything inside. It just didn't add up to her mind whatsoever. Everything that she saw, everything she smelled, it just didn't add up in the equation that was going through her head.

Having her grandmother gone was one thing, if even her older brother and younger sister were gone, she would be in the most terrible kind of trouble than she could have ever imagined. But that still left the questions unanswered, and more added to the pile of them. “O-Okay Applejack, gotta keep yarself tough here. Perhaps, perhaps Gran’s gone to the market already. Ah mean, the moon still in the skies like that while time goes on…” It was just another excuse to deny the facts to herself though.

~~~~

With the courage returning to her mind and body, the mare walked over to the room of her bigger brother and repeated the process done before. Only to also having to open that door as the sounds and sights didn't prove anymore. Gently filled the screech of the hinges the haunted atmosphere and had the mare looking up at them. “Definitely some kind of horror flick, great. What’s next? Ghosts of previous land owners? Puh, let’m come, Ah be needing some tough words with 'em.”

Even though the words were tough, they only concealed the fear that was racing through the earth pony. For the exact same result was given to her once again. Once again she encountered an empty bedroom with not a single trace of the owner. Much like Granny Smith, even Big Macintosh himself had vanished from the face of the land just like that. Though it wasn't something that was truly right in the mind of the cowgirl. “Okay…if there are any ghosts involved in this madness, Ah want a word with y'all, right now, right here!” she almost yelled into the thin air.

Next to fear had anger also been boiling up inside of her. An anger that would be needed to vent through somewhere, somehow. It would taking quite the bit of time before she would have been normal again. Though there still was that one last room that she had to investigate. With that thought did the cowgirl released a couple of deep sighs through her nostrils before she left the room of her brother a lot less angry than she was before.

Though that never took away the fears she had. For the final room of the building she needed to check, was the room of her beloved little sister. It was the room that scared her the most to even as much consider to enter, but the mare knew that she had to set aside her fears and tackle the situation head-on, even if she didn't wanted to do such a thing.

After having listened to the door of Apple Bloom’s bedroom, Applejack once again heard nothing coming out of it. Which meant that there was only one more option that she could have done. One final thing before opening the door. She had to peek through the keyhole once again. Every single time that Applejack did such a thing, she couldn't help it but to find herself almost being a burglar that was about to break into a place. Inside of her own house.

Privacy was something each of the family members was accustomed to and each of them respected that. So the chance was truly there that that caused some massive issues when thought about it. With another deep sigh that left through her nostrils had Applejack lowered her eyes to the hole and looked straight through it. Hoping to find something, if not anything.

A shimmer of darkness came by without a warning. A mare with a black coat or cloak could be seen standing right before the keyhole. To make matters worse, it was Applejack who tried her utmost best to keep her mouth shut. Though the body of the being lowered itself towards the keyhole. Seconds later did Applejack stood eye to eye with the eye of the creature on the other side. Applejack’s green rimmed eye was staring right at a sapphire rimmed, cat-like eye. For fractions of seconds that seemed like minutes had they stared, before the other eye disappeared into thin air.

The cowgirl didn’t wanted to waste a second had the mare just bashed through the door and stepped inside to sniff out the intruder. “Where are ya, ya little vermin?! Ah know yar in here somewhere!” she shouted into the room. Her eyes became fixated into finding the being that had glanced straight into her soul. But as per usual that night, there was nothing that she discovered. Nothing at all could be seen within the room.

The same could even be said for Apple Bloom. Not even the little red maned, yellow coated filly laid in her bed. To that had Applejack taken her hat off and placed it against her chest. Her head dropped itself before she released a deep sigh through the nostrils. “This ain't happening, not to us,” the cowgirl whispered to herself just before the eyes had shut themselves. She was almost drowning herself into the sorrow and guilt that had moved up in her heart.

It almost seemed that she placed all the blame for the entire family’s disappearance on nopony but herself. There was nothing she could be doing or could have done though. She continued on with her life while the world around her stopped and its inhabitants vanished into thin air. “Am, am Ah the only one left?” Applejack questioned herself. She left the room of her little sister without a further sound or word. With the hat still against her chest, the orange coated, blond maned earth pony walked over to her own bedroom and dropped herself on the bed.

~~~~

The hat was finally released and it fell upon the blanket as Applejack just closed her eyes. She didn't even wanted to know what was going on anymore. She didn't know what to believe anymore at that very point in time. Whether or not she was living a dream or real life was unknown. If it was a dream, why wouldn't she just be woken up? Yet if it was real life, what had truly happened to her family and why, why was she still present? Why was she left there, while the rest was gone?

Only one answer could be found in her mind and it was a truly radical one. One that literally could have declared her crazy almost on the very spot. “Mah element,” Applejack spoke in a whisper before she sat up right on her bed. “Mah element of harmony…” It seemed farfetched but given the circumstances of the events as they had happened it made a lot of sense to the cowgirl. That the power of her own element, the harmonic element of honesty had protected her from the purge that caused time to stop and the ponies to cease to exist. A truly insane idea but at the moment it was all that she could think of.

Yet the courage to go to her friends simply wasn't there. At the moment, she didn't believe in the magic of friendship anymore. Not with her entire family being somewhere not even Applejack could be understanding. Nothing, literally nothing in her mind had added up to find any logical explanations to the matters. Though the matter wasn't laid to rest yet. As every secret eventually had to surface, even Applejack knew that all too well.

The secrets she was involved in had to be revealed preferably sooner than later. “What in the name of everything, has happened to this town?” the orange cowgirl questioned herself. There was another deep sigh that was left through her nostrils.

All of the sudden and out of nowhere did the bells in the clock tower of Ponyville began to chime. They didn't gave indicate specifics of time or date. No, the chiming of the clocks were for something that heralded something much more saddening. The tune they were playing was the one as they would have been doing during a funeral.

The ears of Applejack perked themselves up in an instant at the sound. She rose up from her bed with both eyebrows raised. The silent thought of the tower being operated meant that there still would have been ponies around. Though perhaps the oddest of things had to be the fact that the chiming became louder in her ears when seconds passed by. All the way to the point that made it seem, like the tower was standing right next to the house.

The chiming became almost deafening for her and drove her even further over the edge of insanity itself. She seemed to have gone crazy and jumped off of her bed. The rhythmic banging of the bells wasn't something the mare was fond off to begin with. She only wished it would have stopped. She cursed the words out like only a sailor could do before as she slammed her door shut. It was just a faint attempt to escape the infernal sounds.

But just the door wouldn't have been enough. The window in her room needed to be blocked off as well. With a small gallop did Applejack arrive at the window and had her forehooves already curled up around the curtain before she had a glance outside. The scene that was presented to her was everything but the thing she had hoped for. For the mare saw four tombstones standing at the side of the pathway that was leading up to the house.

Disbelief was the emotion that was first going through her body. Out of everything that she had seen so far and with the clock tower still going, could it have been that she was watching her own funeral? Or at least her own tombstone? Frightened for her life had the mare carefully released the curtains and slowly walked back as if she was facing a manticore. She needed to go down, down to the pathway up to the house and discover just who laid buried on those exact places.

~~~~

Not much later stood Applejack on the porch of the house with the scent of something having burned entering her nose once again. She didn't wanted to believe what she saw yet the cowgirl did a step forth without her hat. Watery lines had already formed themselves below the eyes of the mare. The distance between her and the stones was being shortened with every step she took.

Every single step she took felt like she carried a ton of extra weight with her. Every last bit of her became as heavy as it could have been. Unbelievable was it to say the very least. The sadness that she felt while she approached the stones, the chiming of the bells still ringing in her ears. The moment of truth was there and then, she could read each of the stones that were placed along the pathway and instantly knew, that they were tombstones. But the question remained, for whom?

It was a question that had a rather grim answer, even for a mare like Applejack. Each of the stones held the name from one of the family members. Granny Smith was the first, followed up by Big Mac, who on his turn was followed up by Apple Bloom. All three had died at the same date. Though the cause was never written down upon the stones. It only adding up to the pile of mystery.

“This, this ain't happening! They can’t have died, all at the same darn day! It, it is not possible and Ah won’t believe it! This, ain't, happening, ya hear me!” Applejack screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice reached even louder than the chiming clock tower itself. Sadness and anger had taken over her mind again, preventing her to think in any logical manner of speaking and acting. But everything taken into consideration, there still was that fourth tombstone. One whose name wasn't clearly to be read, but it seemed to have at least a bit more explanation on it.

“Ah’ll get you for this, Rainbow Dash. Only you are so sick to come up this kind of prank, vermin treatment for ya. No longer welcome on the Acres…” Only after those words were spoken did Applejack turn her head over to the remaining tombstone. She began to automatically read the text on it. “Here lies, something, something, something, who was the last body to be recovered from the raging fire that destroyed the farm formerly known as Sweetie Apple Acres and therefore stopped the Apple Family bloodline in the serene town of Ponyville..?” The mare blinked a couple of times before she rose her eyebrows again. Confusion wasn’t even going to cover the feelings that went through her. “What in tarnation? Ah ain't dead yet and there certainly wasn't any fire, Ah just walked through the place before that bell started to, hold on a minute.”

The cowgirl began to listen a bit deeper to the sounds around her and made the rather shocking discovery that the chiming of the bell tower had stopped. Total silence was the thing that dominated her nearby area, though it was curiosity that filled her. She wanted to know to whom that last name belonged.

With a couple careful wipes of the dust, had the cowgirl managed to dust off the name. At the discovery of it, her eyes had begun to water up and a hoof was placed before her mouth. She gasped for air. The very name that stood on the final tombstone, wasn't just any name. No, the name that she read below the dust was nothing else but her own name. “N-No! This, this ain't happening for real! Ah ain't dead! Ah ain't dead!” she shouted towards the skies high above before her eyes turned themselves over to the farm house.

It only confirmed the story on the stone. The scent of something having burned suddenly fell right on its place. The green rimmed eyes of the cowgirl looked at a still smoking and burned out Sweet Apple Acres. Everything she once stood for was just gone in the breeze of a flame. A flame that didn't only claim her own life, but that of her family as well.

Everything she had been working just so hard for over like that, and she didn't even know. Knowing it was all over, the mare just turned herself around. She had begun to walk away from the scene all together. The only words that she spoke up were the once said already.

~~~~

“Ah ain't dead yet!” Applejack screamed up while she flung all four of her hooves violently from side to side. The blankets of the bed were flung right off of it. Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked horrified to the bleak cowgirl. Whatever she had been dreaming about, it must have been equally as bad as the other two.

It had taken Applejack ten minutes to wake up after Fluttershy. Pinkie had started to see a pattern in the waking. Though with two mares still deeply asleep, it was only a matter of true time to see if she had it by the right end. All she could be doing there and then was to let Applejack come by from her frights.

Something that would be easier said than done. The cowgirl had turned herself around and dumped her face in the pillow. She was sobbing a bit to herself for as long as she could. Fluttershy couldn't speak a word because of how terrified she was. Pinkie had not a even clue of what she could be doing. All they could be doing was waiting for both Twilight and Rainbow Dash to wake up. If they would be waking up to begin with.

13 Drop dead, cadet

With the sun in her face and a rainbow colored trail behind her, was Rainbow Dash soaring through the skies without any care upon her mind in the entire world. Everything she had to do for the day had been done already. At that point was she just enjoying the time off in the afternoon. Having both cleared the skies over Ponyville and participated in her daily Wonderbolt training had made everything seemed to be going –quite literally– for the wind.

With the wind in her back and her wings flapping at their top speed. All that Rainbow seemed to be in the skies was just this lightning fast rainbow. A rainbow that brought smiles on the faces of everypony who saw it. That was just mere seconds before they gained frowns from the wind she carried with her. Not much would have been left alone in the gusts she created with her flying.

Not that it mattered much to Rainbow. It was just a bit of wind that they had to be dealing with. They could handle a bit of wind, right? She seemed to be flying like a chicken without a head and thus seemed to be going into literally every possible direction. That wasn't the whole truth though. The soaring pegasus had a heading for herself inside of her head.

A heading that literally changed every few minutes, but was still one. In the end had even Dash more than enough of the troubles she had caused to herself and made the decision to fly a bit further north. To a place where only she seemed to be knowing about. A place where ponies weren't exactly allowed to come to begin with.

With a chuckle from her mouth did the daring, cyan coated pegasus just make a flight for it. She soared through sky and cloud as if they were nothing. Rainbow had gone straight into the direction of the infamous Everfree forest. Ponies on the ground that saw her going, all nodded to each other as if they were glad that the hurricane finally would be coming to a stop. Which in return allowed them all to enjoy the warm sunny day without any interruptions.

Time and time again did Rainbow look down. Down to the daring woods themselves. She cruised at a safe altitude, far away from the creatures below her. Her magenta red rimmed eyes gazing through the goggles she wore before them. The sights she noticed through the thick vegetation were pretty much the usual events as they went down and about in the forest.

A forest that was feared by many ponies and for many reasons. When Rainbow continued to look, she could see all the dangers of the woods with her own eyes. Timberwolves, manticores, changelings and hydra’s, those were just a few of the nasty creatures that had called the place their home. All of them pretty much the exact opposite of a pony, mostly in the fact that they all ate meat in order to survive.

It was something that caused Rainbow to shudder a bit in the air. Her sight turned itself straight ahead again. She wanted to shake off the motions and emotions that had been moving her. All because of the simple fact that she could almost taste the meat in her mouth. It wasn't something pretty to say the least. Rainbow began to feel herself sick high in the airs of Equestria.

She wanted to make a barfing motion but succeeded to keep her mouth shut while flying at such speeds as she did. Instead she began to descend towards the ground below. Rainbow had arrived upon the location she wanted to be. A location that most ponies would have rather avoid than embrace. A location that was a constant reminded of one species that always was much more violent than any of the ponies could have ever thought.

The griffons.

~~~~

Born in a cult of bloodthirsty creatures, the art of war was something the species loved more than anything. Rainbow Dash got her first glimpse of that ever since she was in Cloudsdale High. It was there that she met the griffon who became one of her closest friends for years to come, Gilda. That was of course until they broke their friendship for reasons that Rainbow was still trying to figure out.

In the middle of the field did it stand. The last structural reminder of just how amazing the griffon kind happened to be when it came to attack and defend strategies. A tower that went far higher than the treeline of Everfree. So high in fact that on truly clear days the other edge of the woods could be seen. Though the age of the tower was something that concerned Rainbow every time she came there to collect her mind. It wasn’t what it used to be.

It had become a relic from another era which was built nearly thirteen hundred years ago. A good three hundred years before Nightmare Moon even made an appearance in Equestria. Everything that once laid around the tower was the massive fortress operated by the troops of the Griffon Empire, had been reduced to nothing more than just a pile of rubble. All before it was being forgotten through the clusters of time. Yet the lookout tower was the only remaining structure and would be serving as some kind of strange memorial for both races.

The history behind the thing couldn't bring any more interest to Dash than watching snails race. All that she needed to know about the thing was the fact that it was as old as possible, rather unstable and gave an amazing view on days like she was having. Perfect to make her clear her mind from everything that was bothering it.

Having landed gentle on the wood still present on the top floor from the tower, Rainbow Dash rose herself up on her hind legs and moved the goggles up from her eyes. A smile formed itself below her muzzle. She allowed herself to lean against one of the brick support columns and just looked over the sights before. She gave her magenta red rimmed eyes the time of their life in order to catch the sheer beauty of the plains that had been stretching themselves out right before her.

Usually not being a mare who could be bothered with such things, even she had to admit that the vantage points of the tower really were just that. Everything she saw was simply breathtaking. “Now this, this is just awesome,” Rainbow whispered to herself. The smile only got bigger and it ended up in a hearty chuckle. Which on its own got again turned into a content sigh.

It seemed odd for a daredevil like her, to gain such an emotion by looking at a hilly side of grassy plains but in one way or the other she did. Ponies often spoke about the fact that even the busiest of minds needed to have a spot to calm down. Whether it was true was unknown but if it was would that tower abandoned by the griffons so long ago be the perfect place for a mare like Rainbow Dash.

~~~~

It had been hours and hours later that the cyan pegasus stood back in the living room of her cloud palace. With the wings given a final stretch and the moon standing high had the day be called a quits as another intense training with the Wonderbolts was standing at the program for the following day.

In her ears she caught the little propeller of Tank who then came flying downstairs. “Tanky boy!” Rainbow spoke while her wings were tucked back against her body. A smile formed itself on both the face of the tortoise as well as the pegasus before the two nuzzled one another. “You been a good boy today?” she spoke in a tone that she only, and only would speak in against an animal. That high pitched, ever so cute sounding tone that didn't fit her personality at all. Pretty much what Applejack had with Winona. “Of course you have been, you always are.”

The two of them kept nuzzling for a bit longer before Tank gave the mare a lick on the nose. A thing that caused her to giggle a little bit. “Okay, okay, I’m going to fill your food and water and then it’s off to bed. Don’t make it too late either mister, tis an early rise and shine tomorrow,” said Rainbow before the tortoise landed right on her back. She walked over to the kitchen to prepare the last few things.

Tank was given a little treat before Rainbow prepared his food, together with hers for the next day. Time to have done it earlier wasn’t there. It was a little fact she knew all too well. When the time was there again though, was everything done. The pegasus laid curled up under the blankets of her bed and was snoring a bit already. Though it was the tortoise who was still awake and looked at the mare. The propeller on his back came back to life. He then hovered over to the bed before just dropping himself pretty much on the spot he wanted to be. Which was right between the hooves of the sideways lying pegasus.

A pegasus who in return would have wrapped the hooves around him. With a content smile had he retracted his head back into his shell where he would be falling asleep in peace as well. They were both unaware of the fact that a few minutes later, the rain would be starting to tick against the window. Rain that was the first signal of a massive rainstorm coming over them.

When the morning came and the alarm of Rainbow went pretty much through the entire the room, the cyan pegasus was almost flung out of her bed. “Wha!” was the only thing she could bring out after her head had raised itself again over the bed. Devastated by the wake up had she turned herself around. She rushed over to the bathroom in order to make herself up. Everything was done in one of the quickest and most multitasking showers she had ever taken in her life.

With a mane and tail that were still wet was her body slid straight into her Wonderbolt-trainee outfit. It was only after she had hoisted herself in the suit that her ears turned towards one of the many windows of the building. The things that she heard weren't the prettiest of them. The only sounds she could hear were the rain pouring out of the skies by the gallons. “Oh no,” mumbled Rainbow to herself. It was the only thing she could be thinking about.

~~~~

Training in the rain was about the heaviest things that Spitfire would be allowing each of the trainee’s to go through. Speaking about her, the pegasus stood there on the runway among the pouring rain with her admiral’s outfit worn with pride. The sunglasses were nowhere to be found but her sharp eyes looked at each of the just arrived trainee’s. “Judging by the fact that each of you can hear, see and feel, I would say we are in for a training in the rain. And you all know what that means, don’t we, Bulk Biceps?” she said in a loud and clear voice. Spitfire walked past each of the members but stopped by a massively muscled white coated pegasus. A pegasus with almost comically tiny wings. A pair that managed to amazed every single pony on the fact that he could fly with them.

“Yeah!” he roared literally in the face of Spitfire. Who on her own turn had to take a step backward and simply blinked a couple of times. She had expected everything to be happening when she approached him, except for the thing that did happen.

Confused by the yell in her face did she shook her head a couple of times. Then she continued along the line of trainee’s. “Head to the bunker, search out your partner and report back to me in five. Move it! I don’t have all day, and neither have you.” On the command that was given were there nearly a dozen recruits who nodded and saluted to her before they were on their way to find the pony they would be flying with.

Rainbow Dash was of course one of the first to be leaving the scene and headed for the underground bunker. She had been standing in the rain for all of the time and not to mention the fact she had to fly to the academy through that same storm of rain. All of that combined had made her suit to become almost stuck to her body. It felt as if she had been sweating like she would after having done one hundred circles around the place, but they still had to begin their training. One thing was more than certain, it would be a terrible hard day to finish. What would be she glad when it was finally over. What would she be glad, when she was home once more.

Inside of the submerged bunker had Rainbow continued to listen to the world above. Only to have caught the rain pouring down on the runway. “This ain't gonna be good,” she spoke up softly to herself. But just as she thought it couldn't get any worse, it pretty much slapped her in the face as the roaring of thunder was clearly heard through the skies. “O-Okay, now it’s bad.”

But time to cower or shiver wasn't there as some of the other recruits had managed to come downstairs. “Dash,” was suddenly spoken in the voice she knew all too well. With a sigh did the head of Rainbow turn itself up and looked straight into the eyes of her wing-pony. A wing-pony that was nopony else then Lightning Dust herself.

It was true that she had been fired from the academy because of her reckless behavior, but Spitfire somewhere saw the potential that the lime green pegasus had. Much to Dash her bickering was she shipped right up with her. “What is it, Lightning?” the cyan mare muttered towards her.

Ever since the incident, the two couldn’t go through one door whatsoever. Their interactions showed it every single time. While in the air they could work as a team, in the ground they were literally each other’s nemesis. It was something that added two worries to the mind of Rainbow. Lightning Dust herself, and the weather outside. Just great, absolutely fantastic, she thought to herself before she repeated the question.

“Drop dead and give me twenty,” replied Lightning then with a devilish smirk on her face. With that had she turned herself back around to finish up her own preparations. Preparations which Rainbow had been doing at home. Lightning Dust wasn't even completely suited up for the training.

As much as Rainbow wanted to rub those exact words right back in the face of the mare yet the chance never given to her as a set of hooves walked down the metal stairs. A set of hooves that she knew all too well. The mare turned herself over into the direction of the stairs and they saw how the soaked Spitfire walked down to them. But she never came down all the way.

For just about on a quarter of the thing she came to a stop and looked over each of the recruits with a stern look. The vantage point given to her, caused her to smirk just before the rumbles of another thunder strike could be heard clearly. “Listen up buttercups! I’m going to give you all a few minutes to sit in the canteen before we begin. Pray upon your dear life this thunder is going to lay down then. Half an hour is all you got, then I want each and every last of you in formation of the runway, understood?” she spoke to them all.

“Yes miss!” each of the recruits yelled at her before they gave a salute.

“Good. At ease than.” After those words had Spitfire turned herself back around. She walked back up on the stairs and left each of them in the bunker to do what they wanted. Though most knew the plan already. They would be hurdled up in the canteen, hoping the storm would cease.

With each of them gathered up in the canteen, both Dash and Dust remained as far away from one another as they possibly could. They didn't feel the need to discuss the tactics for the events to come. They never discussed anything together. In the eyes of all the others, it looked just like the two of them knew what they needed to be doing in the times they were needed. They completed one another in more than one way when they thought about it. The questions were asked time and time again through the ages, but neither of them wanted to answer them to the feather brains.

Though both of the pegasi had started to talk to a couple others. All in the hope to make the time go by any faster than it was. Rainbow had managed to get in a conversation with Thunder Lane. Who on his own had so his own ideas for the storm. “I don’t think she will even let us go in this weather, I mean, the rate of lightning to sound is almost nothing. It’s right over our heads. Not sure ‘bout you, Dash, but I’m not going up there in these conditions. And neither should you and…miss Grumpypants over there,” he spoke to her with a chuckle. Thunder then nudged his head over to Lightning and Rainbow couldn't do much else then to give him a chuckle.

“I will see if I go up there or not. I can outrun the lightning if I wanna. The only trouble I will be having with it all is indeed miss Grumpypants. Seriously, I can not understand why Spits even gave her to me,” replied Rainbow to him. She looked him in the eyes to find something hidden in them. “Much rather have somepony like Bulk or you to watch my six. True you aren't as fast, but at least you don’t say I can drop dead just like that.”

That caused the black stallion to chuckle a bit to himself. “I can understand what you mean by that. But trust me, it ain't just you she has the pick on, it’s the entire platoon,” he then said to her.

“Platoon?” Rainbow repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“E’yup, we all are a platoon together. All the newbies together, came up with that ourselves one day not too long ago,” Thunder returned to her before his eyes lost contact with hers. Instead he glanced over to the runway. In his eyes he caught Spitfire giving some direction to a couple other instructors. Whatever she had planned out for the platoon, it would be bad for them all.

~~~~

When the time was there to line up, each of the ponies in the group stood in the position and aligned on the runway. “Good, you soaked cups managed to be here on time,” said Spitfire while she stood in front of them all, that time with a hat and a raincoat which covered her body. “You all are wanting to be Wonderbolts, you all are standing here to become one. But being a Wonderbolt is more than just the fancy shows we give, it also means that you have to fly through hell and back. And guess which weather it is today girls.”

Upon hearing those words released each of the recruits gulps of fright. With the exception of Rainbow and Lightning. “This storm, shall test each and every one of you to the fullest. Rain, hail, thunder, nowhere is safe in those clouds, everything you have learned will be put to the test.”

Some of them already did a couple of steps back and shook their heads. Left and right where the mumbles spoken of not going. And it were the exact same words that Spitfire could understand. She was a bitch first class when she wanted to be but still had some sympathy for the lot. The fire maned mare rolled with her eyes as she gave a soft shake with her head. Only to have those exact same eyes fall back upon the platoon of ponies and speak her next words.

“For those of you who are saying I’m completely heartless against you all, I am not. That’s because I’m giving you the choice here. You can either go up there or go home! You’re all first year students, and I don’t expect you to go up there. Usually these tests are for your grand exam in three years. But complete them now, and you don’t have to do them anymore. Any volunteers?!”

Her voice was louder than the strikes of thunder that rolled through the air. It caused most of the ponies to take steps back. The only ponies that were still in their places, were both Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. Only because neither of them wanted to give away an inch of ground. Something that would be coming to them back in triple when the time was there.

Spitfire smirked at the two still standing and gave a nod to the both of them. “Dash, Dust, rain-gear, full outfit, meet back here in ten. The rest of you lot, go back to the bloody canteen and see where the mares are separated from the fillies,” the mare said to them with a stern look.

In the depths of the bunker was Rainbow all too happy that she could exchange her soaked gear for something new and dry. The rain-gear was less aerodynamic without a doubt but it helped out in the weather a lot more. It was a small sacrifice that was made. Lightning on the other end, she was just happy to be able to go in the air. Even though the feud with her partner would still rage on.

The both of them were drying themselves off as quick as they could from their original outfit just before Dust opened her mouth again. “You think you’re such a hotshot, aren't you? But let me tell you, if those friends of yours didn't interfere with my plans, you would have been my wing-pony. Friends, what do you need with them anyway? Only one other pegasus and that seemed like a total wimp to me,” she brought forth. Something of which Rainbow wasn’t too happy about at all.

“Shut up, just hold those teeth of your upon one another, because you don’t know them!” Rainbow replied before she dropped the towel. One last shake of her body was being made before she would hoist her body into the rain-gear.

“Boo, hoo, hoo, listen to yourself, you big foal. You’re nothing but a mare living on luck. Always have been! Well news flash big shot, you can drop dead for all I care. Get hit by a thunder strike and plummet back down to the land below. Makes at least some use for those friends of yours,” Lightning threatened in a serious tone.

“You know what, you are a lot of talk, but when it comes down to it...” Rainbow turned herself around and pressed her head right against that of Lightning. The magenta red rimmed eyes seemed to becoming even more redder because of the fires that were raging into them. “You’re all just bluffing because one mistake, gets your flanks fired and to never return.”

“Ladies, quit your blabbering at once!” the stern voice of Spitfire echoed through the bunker. She could be found on the stairs again. “Two minutes, then I want you in the air.” Before either Dash or Dust could even reply to the words. was the yellow pegasus already on her way up.

The urge to head-butt her wing-pony was there for certain. The act was never done because somewhere inside of her, had Rainbow still some sort of sympathy for the lime green mare. So instead were the foreheads separated from one another again and the preparations finished. The goggles were placed before her eyes and Rainbow gave one last look to herself in the mirror.

Happy with the way she looked, Rainbow gave herself a small nod. Only then she peeked over to Lightning in the mirror. It was in that fraction of a second that they both looked into the mirror, that Rainbow got the scare of her life. For Lightning Dust wasn't the one she knew. Her body had turned into that of a unicorn with a set of eyes that were creeping up to her.

Cat-like irises and that haunting blue coloring. It was something she couldn't believe and shook her head rapidly from side to side to side. “You okay?” Lighting asked when she noticed that Rainbow looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Yeah, yes, let’s, let’s go to the runway,” replied Rainbow before she gave her head a little rub. She would have turned over to the staircase afterwards. The time to show Spitfire just what the two were worth was there. Rainbow wouldn't let her down in any way. Too much had she been risking already to become part of the Wonderbolts and then, then she wanted to continue that fight with every last ember in her heart. The time would be there and they both knew it.

~~~~

When the two of them arrived at the runway was Spitfire waiting for them at the start and they both galloped over to her to hear the briefing. “Alright ladies, what you are going to be doing is a normal reconnaissance trip. The buoy’s should still be in the air. It’s not the hardest trip but you need to be watching out for the lightning. Complete the course as quick as you can, am I clear to you?”

Both of the pegasi gave a nod to her who then nodded in return. “Good luck buttercups.” With those words had she turned around, only to walk away from them. The two of them would be on their own from there on out until the course was completed. Whether it be through one way or the other, they would finish it.

Dash and Dust looked at one another and managed to somehow set their differences aside and simultaneously gave a nod to the other. They faced down the runway in order to make the last preparations. In sync with one another had they started to galloped over the runway with their wings spread out. Battling the wind and rain already had the two managed to come off the ground like it was nothing and made a steep curve to the left in order to start their course.

They soared through the skies with everything they got while keeping the other in the corner of their eyes. There where Dash wanted to fly harder and faster, she wasn't allowed because she then risked losing Dust through the thick and black clouds. It was a massive give and take relationship where the two went through as the circled around the entire floating complex a couple of times to find the first buoy.

With all the other ponies safe bunked down in the canteen, they saw the duo flying by a couple of times. Most of them had declared them crazy right there on the spot. It didn't matter just what they thought of them though. For both Dash and Dust had their own agenda to keep up. A thing which was changed by the fact that Dust nudged Rainbow in the side. She pointed to the very first buoy in the air. The cyan mare nodded in return and they were both off towards it.

Meanwhile on the ground, Spitfire was keeping a close eye on the two through a set of binoculars. Around her were the other instructors that were just there in order to make certain that the lightning wouldn't come crashing down right on top of them. Through the binoculars had Spitfire managed to keep the two of them in check and followed them as they traveled from airborne buoy to buoy. It even came down to the very point that she seemed to be content and even happy with the performances of the two mares.

Vocal directions couldn't be heard at the altitude they were flying on, especially with the wind and rain roaring through the ears. Everything they did in order to communicate was done perfectly by the books. “I haven’t seen this kind of flight in years from first grade cadets,” she whispered to herself. Spitfire had to admit that she was at least a bit impressed by them.

~~~~

Everything seemed to be going pretty much perfect in the skies high above them. Both Dash and Dust evaded the lightning that was thrown at them like it was nothing and managed to find the marks time and time again. The differences set aside and the minds in sync with one another truly did some wonders for the mares. If it wasn't for the bitching attitude of Dust, it would have been a match made in heaven for Rainbow.

Speaking of the heavens, those were as gray as they possibly could have been and it worried the pegasi to no end. Every single second there was something or anything that could have gone wrong. In the worst case, they would be forced down to the ground. Something that had already happened without them knowing.

Back on the ground had the wings of Spitfire opened themselves in surprise as she went over and over on the particular spot of where she had seen both of the mares for the last time. “This is impossible, this can’t be happening!” she spoke up softly to herself while the eyes continued to look through the binoculars. “I lost… I lost them!” Spitfire yelled aloud before she turned herself over to the other instructors. “You, you and you, go up there and find them. They should be going to the eleventh buoy by now. Hurry up and get them back here!”

With a nod given by the appointed ponies did they all spread their wings. They were ready to leave the safety of the runway. Though just when they wanted to get out of the way to hit the skies there was something else managed to scatter them all across that same runway. For literally not three hooves behind them was a massive thunder strike happened whose electric discharge was enough to knock the ponies over.

Spitfire hoisted herself off from the concrete runway and shook her head. “Stay on the ground! It’s too dangerous to go up there and pray to Celestia for those buttercups.” It was about the wisest thing that she could be doing in the situation. Sending more of her ponies up there would only result in more losses. Dash and Dust knew the dangers of the track all too well, but still they went with the plan. “Everypony inside, now!” Spitfire yelled before she glanced one last time to the skies above. She still had the faint hope of finding the two of them somewhere among the clouds.

Though she saw nothing. Not even a shimmer of the mares that were racing through it. She took a deep sniff to inhale the air and turned herself slowly around. Without a word had she walked back to the main building and straight into the canteen to join the others of the platoon. Though also to perhaps manage to capture a glimpse of the two that were still high in the skies.

Spitfire wasn't quickly afraid when it came down to a training or anything the like but at that moment, after being flung through the air by an electric discharge for the first time in her entire life, she was scared. Her posture and face perhaps didn't gave it away but the eyes screamed as loud as they could.

On the ground it was thought to be bad already, high up in the skies was it even worse. Literally every few, agonizing seconds after one another did either Rainbow or Lightning had to evade another bolt that was being shot down towards the ground. The both of them knew that they couldn't finish the course in the condition they were flying in. It was a tough call for Rainbow to make. It was better if they tried to just go back down to the ground or to the runway of the academy.

Dash turned herself over to Dust before one of her hooves pointed down. At first the other mare didn't understood just what was meant with it and shrugged in midair. After a couple more hoofgestures had made by Rainbow and her even pointing to a lightning bolt that traveled through the skies, Dust would have gotten the massege.

The lime green mare nodded to the proposed offer. She would be following Rainbow in the descend to come. They wanted to get as low as possible, as fast as possible. Though it would be something that was a lot more risky. When a pegasus plummeted out of the skies –especially during a thunderstorm like they were in– they would becoming the most perfect lightning conductors.

It was a tiny mistake that Rainbow didn't notice. They just did it, Rainbow was the first of them to make the drop downwards. Even Lightning Dust herself went down with the cyan mare. Not even she knew that little fact. It would be a price that the both of them needed to be paying.

~~~~

The two of them were in luck as they rocketed down straight towards the runway of the academy. With the wind that was howling in her ears could Rainbow only have caught the sounds of a bolt crashing. One perhaps a little bit too nearby of them and she only increased in speed. For some reason didn't she check behind her if Lightning Dust was alright or possible even there still. All that Rainbow cared about at the moment, was making it down to the ground as quick as she could.

In the end had Rainbow pulled back up in to the skies to drop her terminal velocity and approach the runway in order to make a safe landing. It would be something that took her a bit more time, but it was better than crashing right into the thing. She soared through the skies while her velocity lowered itself and one last turn being made in order to make the approach to the runway.

A runway on which she touched down almost perfect according to the books. The mare gave her wings a couple of last flaps before they were tucked against her body. Yet when she landed upon the massive runway, in the distance she saw all the other ponies in the platoon, in her platoon rounding up around something. Something that stood close to the edge of the floating rock.

Curiosity was the only thing that started to flow through her body before she heard another strike coming down with a crushing sound. It startled her a little bit, but she still went over to the place of the other ponies. She wanted to know what happened. Could it be that another pony tried the course in the storm or had Spitfire fainted from just how they both soared through the skies?

Again without looking where Lightning Dust happened to be, Rainbow walked over to the group of ponies. The very first set of eyes she looked into, where those of Spitfire. They expression was everything but happy. “How could you have forgotten your place, buttercup! Always, always communicate with your partner no matter what you’re planning to do!” she shouted right in the face of Rainbow. The pegasus genuinely had not even a single clue of what was going on.

Spitfire just huffed in her face before she turned herself around. She then pushed some of the recruits to the side. Only to reveal the very thing they were looking at to Rainbow Dash. With the thing clearly visible in her eyes, she couldn't believe it for one bit. Almost in an instant had she began to hyperventilate and reached for both her mouth or chest. The hoof couldn't make the decision but eventually was placed on the goggles to move them away from the eyes.

It seemed to be impossible to what she was looking. Yet the truth was there as clear as the day itself. Dash dared to take a step or two forward to have a better look. It was that it rained just as hard as it did, otherwise the tears that she had could be clearly seen inside of her eyes. She was a the brink of crying and for good reason, she had hunted somepony straight into death itself.

The thing each and every soul out there was watching towards, happened to be the body of Lightning Dust. One of her wings burned to nothing but a crisp while the body itself was unnatural flat. “N-No,” was all Rainbow could say to it at first. “S-She was, she was right behind me, I swear!”

“Well apparently not, cadet Dash! Because she is lying here on the runway, you killed her, Rainbow, simple as that!” Spitfire growled towards the cyan mare. A mare who couldn't believe the thing she had done there and then and did the only thing she could be doing in her own eyes.

With some care had Rainbow walked over to the edge of the floating rock. She gulped deep before the eyes were closed. “If, if she dropped to her death because of me, what good to the world am I then? I don’t deserve to be a captain of anything. I’m sorry everypony…” she brought out.

“Don’t you dare!” Spitfire yelled at her. She rushed over to Rainbow. But she was too late, by the time that she was there in the hope to grab Rainbow, was all she held in her hoof just empty air and looked over the side of the rock. There she saw Rainbow falling and gaining speed with her forehooves placed against her wings. They couldn't open themselves and with the tail literally between her hind legs, it meant that she had given up on everything. “No!” Spitfire yelled before Rainbow disappeared in the dark clouds and another zap of the lightning could be heard.

~~~~

Without a warning to anypony were the blankets under which Rainbow laid flung up. The pegasus all of the sudden sat upright in the bed with her wings spread. She panted like an animal and the only pony who looked at her was Pinkie. Digressing of just why she looked almost right away, Rainbow started to inspect her body left and right to see if everything was still there.

“It was, it was just, a, a nightmare,” the cyan pegasus mumbled to herself. She then chuckled in a stuttering manner to herself and dropped back in the bed. But it did confirm the theory of Pinkie. Rainbow had woken up ten minutes after Applejack which meant that over another ten, Twilight would be woken up from her nightmare. After that would hopefully everything be revealed to them all. They needed some answers, anything would have done the trick.

14 Peeking doesn't hurt, does it?

The sun was still standing in the status of the high afternoon. Twilight Sparkle had left the Golden Oak library for the thing that it was. She had begun to make her daily trot through the town of Ponyville. She was in the need of some form of refreshment through her mind. Hours upon hours had she locked herself deep inside of the basement of the place while working on a thing. Something that apparently was so secret, that not even Spike was allowed to know what it was. Something she had been working for months by that point in time and managed to keep just so secret.

Though as with all the secrets that involved the mulberry unicorn, they would eventually surface by one way or the other, whether she liked it or not. More often than not was it actually her own little assistant who managed to take care of that. He would have sniffed around her experiments before discovering the notes and scrabbles she had written. Those would eventually be sent to any higher authorities. Whether it have been friends of Twilight, or the royals themselves.

A mad scientist was the thing she had been called numerous times because of those very same experiments. They had all the right to call her that way, though she had been doing also a rather good deed for Ponyville in the years that she had been living there. It seemed to be a mixed bag about what the folk thought of Twilight. With her being one of the elements of harmony –it being magic no less– nopony dared to accuse her in the wide open, there where she could call upon every last ounce of her powers. Almost as if they were afraid of her capabilities.

With no clouds in the skies was Twilight just wandering through the streets and lanes of Ponyville, her head sunken in thoughts. From time to time she would be returning to the world of the wake. It was only to avoid any incoming traffic or to look just where she was. For the rest did those purple rimmed eyes just irradiate that endless stare. A stare that didn't only look to the soul of a pony, but also far through it. Uncomfortable feelings did it indeed gave, but ponies looked quickly the other way when they saw her approaching.

Not that it meant much to Twilight herself as she was just going about she had set out to do. Her heading seemed to change every so often though. For the busy streets of the town just didn't gave her that freedom to truly topple herself into the realm of her mind. She needed to be going someplace quiet and serene in order to sort the matters out that troubled her.

Thus the only direction she could be going in order to do that, was the hillside. And it wasn't any hillside. In fact, it was the hillside where probably her unicorn nemesis had made her home. “Ugh… I just hope I don’t encounter her again,” Twilight mumbled to herself. She continued along the path to get to the hills of Ponyville.

Once she had arrived upon the site she needed to be, the mulberry unicorn had calmly made her way along the side of a steep hill. She reached the top quicker than she could have expected for her feeling. Yet it was worth it already as everywhere she looked it was the same sight. Not a single pony to be found and the sounds of nature were all quiet. It seemed to be the perfect place for her to think and that was exactly what she was going to be doing.

The eyes of Twilight closed themselves completely shut. The mare took long breaths in and out while emptying her mind from everything there was. That was with the exception of the matter she needed to solve. A matter that laid a little bit sensitive to her. Something that she had been researching to for so long already. One thing that kept on gnawing, begging for an answer.

Her mind delved itself into a deep trance-like state while her body just remained idle on the position. Hunched on her hind legs, the unicorn just sat there like a statue. A statue that was breathing in and out every so often and deep. Though she wasn't alone in the hills. For an azure coated mare slowly made the approach to Twilight.

Her cornflower blue mane hung off to the side as the eyes of the other mare kept themselves peeled upon the mulberry unicorn. Minute by minute passed by before she stood eye in eye with her beloved nemesis. It was something that caused her to chuckle to herself really. A chuckle that slowly transported itself over to the words of speech. “Well, well, well, look at what Trixie has found here, has Twilight… Hey, you even listening to me?” Trixie spoke up before she waved her hoof in front of Twilight.

There wasn't any response she got out of the unicorn and rose an eyebrow to it. “What in the name of..?” Only then she started to frail both of her forelegs as fast as she could before the eyes of Twilight. In the hope to somehow get her to open the things and look at her. To let her witness just how great and powerful Trixie happened to be.

At least that was the desired plan as for no matter what Trixie managed to be doing, it had not a single effect upon Twilight. “Of course I could end you here and now, but where’s the fun in doing that now, hm? Hmhmhm, we shall meet again, Sparkle, awake hopefully,” Trixie smirked before she messed up with the mane of Twilight for a bit.

When the mane looked like she wanted to have it, Trixie snickered to herself. Then just left the mare alone again. The sun had been setting and that meant that she needed to go home quickly. For not even the hills were usually safe from the predators of Everfree. “Trixie shall see you, again,” the mare chuckled to herself before she booped the nose of Twilight. After that was she just gone. Gone in a plume of smoke as if she had never been there to begin with.

~~~~

Though it was only after the moon had been raised for almost a quarter over the skies that Twilight woke up from her trance. She slowly opened her eyes and viewed the first bits of the world around her. A slightly annoyed groan was the first thing to leave her mouth before she dropped her head a little bit. Though it would have been than that she discovered a piece of mane that fell before her right eye. A piece of mane that usually didn't needed to be hanging there.

“…Now what’s this?” Twilight mumbled to herself as she inspected the flock of hair a bit better and noticed the shape almost immediately. “Very, very funny, Trixie.” Twilight mumbled to herself. She got up from her position and turned around. The mulberry mare allowed her horn to be coated in the raspberry pink color before she conjured a mirror in front of her, and looked through it.

The thing that she saw was just as what she thought it was going to be. Her entire mane had been literally reshaped and given the style Trixie always wore. A style that she personally hated and everypony pretty much knew about it. With an annoyed grumble that left through her mouth had the horn increased itself in the levels of magic just a bit more. Her entire head would have disappeared in an orb of light.

It took only a few seconds before the orb shattered again into nothing but tiny fragments and what was revealed to the world was a much better sight. The style of Trixie was gone and replaced with the style that Twilight always wanted to have. Or better said, the style she was used to.

Yet it did help her to come out there. Perhaps she hadn't solved the matter that she wanted to, but at least she had been in the outside world for a couple of hours. That was something that felt truly good to her. Her mind was fresh once again and she appeared to be thinking sharp again.

It would be something that she needed to be putting to the test sooner or later for the night was out and all she wanted to do was to snuggle up in her bed and fall asleep with the starry skies falling through her window.

Which was exactly what happened to her in the end of the late evening.

The following morning was the sun rising bright and early. Twilight opened her eyes after a –what seemed to be– short night of little sleep. Her body rose itself up from the bed and she released a deep groan. The eyes looked through the room and noticed that Spike didn't happen to be in his basket. It was something that caused the mare to raise an eyebrow and mumbled some inaudible gibberish to herself.

Though the time to stay in bed wasn't there anymore. She had to be out and do her things. Twilight just wanted that her experiment in the basement would be working the way she intended it for once. With another yawn she managed to get out of bed and shook her head a few times after her hooves made contact with the floor. It was in the corner of her eyes that she caught something that wasn't there the night before.

Curiosity was the emotion that managed to take a hold of the mare. She slowly approached the desk she most of the time worked behind. On top of all the scrolls, schematics and books, laid a letter. A letter that was written in the handwriting of Spike and was addressed to her. “What was so important that he had to write it down for me, instead of just telling me it straight to the face?” Twilight mumbled to herself before her head started to pound its way into her skull. She needed to be wide awake if she wanted to truly understand the letter, and at the moment she happened to be everything but that.

“I’ll read it after breakfast, first a shower,” the mulberry mare spoke up to herself. Twilight released a deep yawn and would have made her way over to the bathroom. There she would be preparing the tub for a moment of utterly waking up. Not to mention taking a well-earned shower. Because after the waters had been filled into the tub itself took Twilight a deep smell over her coat and the scent that it gave off was everything but something pretty.

She quickly made the discovery that she smelled like a rotten egg, or close to it. “Blegh, perhaps that is why he went away,” said Twilight to herself. She pressed a hoof against her nose in the hope not to smell it anymore. It also caused her to jump into the tub even faster than normal. After a couple minutes of having gotten used to the warm waters, Twilight started to wash herself with both her hooves as well as her magic to reach the hard placed like her entire back.

The warm waters helped to wake her up in a gentle manner and seemed to be doing its job a lot better than cold water. Cold water was fine for her, if she needed to be waking up quickly. But on that day, she could luckily take all of her time.

And taking her time was what she did. The mare had been lying inside of the tub for nearly an hour before the decision to get out of it again was made. With the waters dripping from every side of her body, Twilight had allowed her horn to charge itself up. All of the sudden could the warmth of the sun be felt reflecting upon her coat.

What she had done was placed a couple of mirrors on strategic points around her body which amplified the light of the sun to such an extent that it would actually be drying her coat and mane. It was an ingenious little system that she had for herself and she loved it. Not even a single towel would be used in the drying process. It was of course with the exception for the one used in her mane. Exceptions on the rules was a thing that always happened. Something she didn’t always like.

Either way, with the towels wrapped around both her mane and tail, Twilight hummed softly to herself. She summoned a slice of bread, a cup of tea and the letter to herself while descending from the stairs down. All the way down to the magically locked basement. A basement where she didn't wanted and needed anypony to be snuffling around. While the slice of bread and the tea were being consumed, the locks of the door were undone from themselves and from one another. Only then was the heavy basement door slowly opened for herself.

Twilight walked through the created opening and closed the door again while even locking it up. The letter was dropped upon the desk. Her horn discharged itself before her eyes looked over a device. A thing on which she had been working on for just such a long time. Months of her time had been placed into it and she just wanted it to work so badly. Though it was also a massive risk that she carried with her, nopony knew just what she was building down there. Not to mention the fact that whatever it was, it was strictly illegal by the orders of princess Celestia herself after she discovered just what her student was working on in theory.

Yet it never seemed to have stopped the crazed, mulberry mare. She had continued to conduct the experiment in secret. Twilight knew that she was just so close to fining the tunes and working out the faults. All that she needed was more time and that was just the thing she gave herself. “My little, illegal brainchild,” Twilight spoke up with a smirk. She petted the cold exterior of the steel device like it was a foal to her.

~~~~

It was a device that seemed to be like a doorway of some sort. One which was hooked up to a variety of machinery. Machinery all powered by her magical ability and seemed capable of doing all sorts of readings. “Today is going to be the day that I shall manage to get you to work, the way I had designed you all those months ago.” Her hoof continued to stroke the device while the grin calmly faded away.

With a quick turn had she realized that the letter still laid upon the desk. The priority was to read that before doing anything else. The very risk was there, that Spike could have discovered her plans one way or the other. And that the content inside that very letter which seemed to be a threat if she continued on doing what she did.

It seemed a little bit paranoid, but paranoid and Twilight had been holding each other’s hooves since she was accepted on the school for the gifted unicorns. And the only manner to discover just what it said was to open it up and read it for herself.

With a confident nod was the letter levitated over to her and opened. The purple rimmed eyes begun to read through the content. While she read, she didn’t seem to be blinking one bit.

It was odd for her, but the letter itself was basically a vacation application. “So, he’s gone to Canterlot and pay a visit to the royals. Right then, means I have free game and not him walking before my hooves. Should be a walk in the park than,” Twilight spoke up to herself. The mare had read through the letter multiple times before it was put aside again.

She would have turned herself back around to the device and the gaze in her eyes turned itself over to a stern one. “Which makes it only you, and me.” Her horn charged itself up a bit more as all sorts of scrabbled notes were being levitated closer towards her and formed nice little stacks.

She had to run through everything, one last time and see the places she had gone wrong before even attempting to turn the thing on again. Because one mistake not seen could be the end of her existence as she knew it. If not worse.

Though minutes had turned themselves into painfully long hours. Twilight had finally plowed through all of her notes and scrabbles. She was connecting every last bit together in order to get the device up and running. Calculation after calculation had been by her mind. Up to the point where she was getting just utterly sick of them. Yet even with the hours of tinkering she seemed to be getting it the right way. There must have been this one little thing she seemed to be missing.

It was just driving her over to the brink of insanity, or far beyond it. Twilight wanted to continue so badly on her brainchild. Though for some reason, she wasn't allowed. Not to mention that there had been a gnawing feeling of something not being there the entire time she had been working upon the calculations. Something that was of a rather great importance to her and something she couldn't have been missing whatsoever. Something so small yet seemingly so decisive.

Almost as if the light bulb was being screwed unto her head, did the lights suddenly turned themselves on in her brain. Twilight knew almost exactly the thing she needed the most in the moment and even thought she had cracked the formula of what she needed. With a hop in her legs, she walked over to the table and shoved everything aside that wasn't of need to her.

Soon after that, she ended up with a black colored notebook and opened it with the help of her magic as a pencil was being levitated over. On an empty page she started to sketch out the situation as it always had been for her and how she wanted it to be. The first drawing had the device turned on with a window that was cracked, while the other had one that was in one piece.

“Time and space aren't fixed you stupid mare! They are in flux! Always on the move and changing with every single second,” Twilight explained to herself as the notebook was laid down again and she placed both of her forelegs upon the edge of the table. The legs stretched themselves straight, raising her body over the table as the pencil kept on going. “So if the portal is wanting to be working, I don’t need a solid window to look through. All I need is a flexible one. One that is like bubblegum, rubber band? No, no, no, bendable, clear plastic? Might be good enough, but that still doesn't protect me from the radiation, not to mention if they can see me peeking in.”

That was the purpose of the device, to look into the past and future of an alternative universe. One that always walked parallel to the one she lived in. The changes on the other side of the great unknown where just some of the things that she wanted to discover. In a manner of speaking, Twilight had been wanting to invent nothing else but time travel. Time travel outside of a spell and without physically traveling back through it.

It was already pretty obvious of just why Celestia had forbidden her to conduct the experiment. But she was just so close to getting it right. The sheer determination that Twilight had for the project as whole was unmatched by anything. Having not only build the device from scrap but also done the math all by her own with a bit of help from scrolls found in the libraries of both her own and Canterlot, it seemed to be possible.

But seeming to be possible and being impossible, were two different things in life. What could happen in theory, doesn't have to work in the real world and vice versa. It was too much for Twilight to not give up. Everything she had been doing just proved to her that it would work. All that was needed was the stuff the time window was going to be made from. Which happened to be the thing that she had almost cracked.

Though it would raise only more questions than answers. If she would be finally able to turn the thing on, would the other side not cause too much troubles for her mind? Would the other side not be able to see her? And what if the other parallel world happened to be nothing but a barren wasteland caused by some kind of time triggered event? All of those questions would arise in the moment she had fully worked out the formula she was working on the very moment.

Ponies could have called her truly insane for the very thing that Twilight was attempting. They would have been backed up by her friends, mentor and other princesses of Equestria. The fate of the other worlds was something to be remained unknown and uncertain. But Twilight was a mare who rather had the questions in her mind answered in any way, rather than to be left without any.

A good answer was just perfect, but a bad answer still happened to be one. Whether it was actually liked or not by her. Minutes had passed by while she continued to break her mind over the matter of the flexible glass to watch through. Many things had be coming up in her mind, but all of them just didn't cut it as it wouldn't have been granted the same ability to look clearly through it.

Even though she had been going through all the materialized objects in the world, there still was one powerful arcane spell that most likely would be the thing she needed. It wasn't something she came up with fast, as the spell wasn't that often used. It was actually something that came to light the moment she started to think about if the solution could be found in her magical arsenal. Which from the looks of it, it apparently could.

~~~~

Another hour had been used to carefully construct the formula. The one that was required for the arcane shield to be made to act like the flux window for the device. Small bottles were eventually being filled with a strange liquid that should be just enough to create the shield on certain placed. Each of the little bottles was then transported over to one of the many glass bubbles that hung on the outside of the doorframe, connected to muzzles inside of it.

It was all rather high-tech stuff, even for Twilight. Thought the bubbles were being filled up to their max. Once that was done, Twilight had set each of the little bottles back on the table and released a deep sigh through her mouth. “This is going to be it, the moment of truth, and to see who happened to be right on the matter,” the mulberry mare softly spoke to herself. She placed the goggles before her eyes just in case.

Her body was already being protected with the labcoat, the goggles should be protecting her eyes. Her horn charged itself up to heights never seen before to power up the monstrous device. Prayers in the tongue of the ancient unicorns were made by Twilight as the roaring engines came to life again. While she was used to their sounds, it would have been the first time for everything to just come together at once. And the first time to see, if everything had been worth the effort.

Power rushed through the machine as the indicators gave off their measurements as the paper with the, what seemed to be seismic activity, rolled out of the edge of the machine. Trembles and roars of the thing were being made as she had been standing before it so many times that she could almost dream the procedure.

All that was left for her to do was to pull the massive switch on the side and watch the window to be created before her eyes. At least that was the plan she had in mind. For in the world of science, anything could happen. And Twilight knew that fact just all too well. But she either truly determined or utterly stupid, for her hoof started to reach out for that switch.

Before she could even know what was happening, she pulled the switch.

All the liquids that were in the glass bubbles was sprayed through the doorway. It caused a massive show of light to emerge without a warning. Almost as if she had created a raspberry thunderstorm in the doorway, for that was how it looked like. Though it wasn't a moment to celebrate just yet. She had been standing there for so long, at that exact point. It was the point where previous tests always seemed to have failed. The next few seconds would have determined whether or not it worked or not.

Yet Twilight had the feeling that the test she was doing then, was different than others. That it would actually succeed upon that what she was hoping to achieve. The mare did a couple of steps back before she heard them once more. Those eerie voices had returned to her. Voices that seemed to be coming from the other side. Voices that didn't drill themselves through her skull for once, but instead they could be picked up as normal conversations.

“It’s working, it’s working,” Twilight whispered to herself. The white rays of lightning only seemed to becoming more and more intense. Not that it prevented Twilight from opening the darkened pieces of her goggles and thus allowing her true eyes, to look straight into the creation. “It’s, it’s beautiful,” the mare continued to whisper. She couldn't believe what she was.

It made her even forget the many whispers that were going through her mind. It even made her miss something quite obvious. The sheer fact that the lightning itself, created an image of a head. A head of a mare that shouldn't be alive. The head that belonged to a nightmarish entity.

The triumph that Twilight had achieved thus far was something that went way past the dreams of the mare already. Yet the experiment was long from being over. Everything seemed to be going just as it was needed to be or even better on some other parts. It seemed to be unbelievable, even to a mare like herself. Everything she had been working towards were waiting on that unpredictable lightning.

That would be the decisive factor in the whole case. The lightning managed to calm itself down and form a window shape. Then she could know for certain whether or not her time and effort had been a success. But even if it was a fail, the lightshow on which she was treated with, was something that had made it worth it already. Never in her life had she seen something that beautiful and she doubted if she would be seeing it again.

The indicators erupted in sound all of the sudden. Twilight was brought out of the dream with force. She closed the goggles again and rushed over to the equipment in order to make sure everything was still going alright. But the things that she managed to be reading seemed to be unheard from. “This, this isn't possible! So many particles shouldn't be existing in the same place. Unless, unless… Hahahaha!” She could almost have started to dance on the spot, weren't it for the sheer fact that a large explosion in the door frame managed to knock her back down on her hooves.

An explosion that didn't had that much force, but the shockwave was all the more powerful had occurred. Though it was right after it that the silence had taken over of the basement and Twilight couldn't even hear the whispers in her head anymore. Everything was silent with the exception of the device and the doorway. Only small rumbles of thunder seemed to be leaving it and Twilight gulped.

For her feelings had she managed to be doing it. Though she required confirmation with her eyes and guts. Slowly and with trembling legs did she walk over to the doorway and opened up the goggles again. The sight that fell in her eyes was something she couldn't believe, she just couldn't believe it even though it was right on front of her. “I, I did it… I actually, did it,” Twilight whispered to herself before a massive grin came to her face.

In the door opening itself stood the thing she had been missing since the beginning. The flexible window that could have allowed her look through time and dimensions. It was a true work of beauty for certain. Weren't it with just one problem, the fact that she still needed to be looking right through it in order to confirm the fact whether or not her experiment was a success.

~~~~

Slowly did Twilight appear by the doorway. She gave her eyes the time to look at the various things she could be seeing. And what she saw was something truly unbelievable. Through the still surging magical doorway did she gave her eyes the time to look through the dimensional window. The purple rimmed eyes watered up behind the goggles. Months of work had then come to an end. She was looking straight into the basement of the building. Yet the time of day and the arrangement were both different on the other side. Whether it was future or past was uncertain. It could even been present for all she knew. Yet out of everything there was one thing that she knew, she had done it.

For minutes had Twilight just kept on watching through the gateway while also keeping her eyes strictly on all the measurements. From what she could tell, everything was just as good as it could be getting. Though caution was placed at the top of her priorities list.

Then, out of nowhere, was the door on the other side opened and the mare was greeted with an alternate version of herself. A version who looked a couple months younger than the one who was conducting the experiment. This is going to be interesting, alternative dimension and me in the past, Twilight thought to herself. She avoided any direct eye contact with her other self. The purple rims never even once laid themselves on the other mare for obvious reasoning. It was better to play the game safe than sorry.

Though from the sounds of it and the whispers spoken by the other side, whatever the other Twilight was to be planning on doing, the chemicals and spells heard weren't the most safest ones either. Only glimpse and pieces were caught in the lab coat wearing unicorn before the realization went through her body.

The version of herself where she was looking at, was about to conduct an even more dangerous experiment. One that even she had classified as too dangerous. Twilight wanted to watch, if not warn her other self but the consequences of doing so could be a true disaster. What if she did screw up the timeline? Because who was to say it wasn't the actual past she was looking into?

It made the unicorn realize just how much of her own experiment she still needed to discover, in order to advance to any next stage that may be following through it. Though Twilight couldn't believe that her other self was at the point of doing it. The exact specifics of the subject weren't known to the coat wearing mare at the time though. Her head filled itself with all sorts of possible outcomes and even intentions.

In her ears she could hear the liquids being mixed together in the bottles and the goggled mare flipped them back down, just to be safe and to prevent her eyes from looking directly at her other self. With perhaps risk for her own life had she dared to look down and rest her eyes on the back of the other Twilight. The one who was conducting the experiment. Though the eyes quickly darted all over the place for everything wrong that she saw.

Though her little darting had the unforeseen side effect. Her other self gazed over to the doorway all of the sudden. She looked straight into the eyes of the real Twilight. With the bottles held in her magic, the mouth of the mare fell open in silence. A second later was the flow of magic interrupted and ceased. It allowed the bottles of the liquids to fall down to the ground.

The goggled Twilight couldn't do anything then to just stare right back at her even image in that same silence. In the moment seemed both their breathing and heartbeat to be in perfect sync with one another. Though then it just happened. The bottles crashed on the floor of the basement. Before either of the two could react, was it too late already. The deadly chain of events had been set in motion. One that would determine the fate of both of their lives.

A massive explosion of a magical fire filled the basement of the other Twilight. A fire that not even lasted for thirty seconds. But those same thirty seconds, seemed to be like thirty years in the eyes of the goggled mare. Who opened the black lids again in order to watch for anything to be happening. If she could be as much as catching a single glimpse of what had happened in there.

When the fires finally died down was the utter devastation is revealed to Twilight. The entire basement has gone, up in nothing but smoke and on the place where her other self stood, only a skeleton remained. “She, she didn't even had, the chance,” Twilight whispered to herself. Yet she dared to take a step closer to the window and look further.

~~~~

Though the step did more good than she could have asked. The force of the explosion had caused the flexible window to be pushed far over its limits. It was meant to hold the flux of time in its place. It was never meant to counter the force of such a powerful blast. Little did Twilight knew, that the window was about to become a doorway.

Cracks and creaks were heard loud and clear in her ears but she didn't gave them any heed. The sirens of the device were wailing through her ears as well but went unheard. All she could think about on that moment was the fact of how hard her other self must have screamed when life was literally blasted out of her. It was her own fault no less.

Then it happened, the window became too fragile. It just shattered into both dimensions. In an instant had it created a doorway for the mulberry unicorn to enter through. Not only would the mare have been able to come through, so would the deadly vapors of the explosion. It was in the second that she realized that, that the horn charged itself up and made the room become an air lock. But not just her own, also that of her counterpart.

Not a single bit of oxygen would be going in or out through any of the openings. “And so it happens then, doesn't it? A captain going down with his ship? A scientist going down with his greatest experiment?” Twilight questioned herself. She was at the verge of crying. She knew that her life would be ended soon enough, there wasn't anything she could be doing but pray.

Twilight prayed on the fact that her soul be granted some mercy and that her magic would be able to hold the vapors inside after she had passed away. Both were long shots but worth praying for in those final seconds. If she had ever believed in some kind of god other than the princesses of the day and night, there would be the time and place to do so.

The venomous vapor had started to enter both her nose and mouth with every breath she took. It caused Twilight to cough deep before she collapsed on her side. The immobilization had set in even faster than she had expected and closed her eyes. Twilight would then simply be waiting, waiting for her life to end and her to end in the afterlife she always refused to believe in.

~~~~

When the eyes of Twilight opened themselves up again, it was just that. Just the eyes being opened and they watched over their situation. She blinked a couple of times slowly before her head turned itself over to one side. The side where Pinkie laid and the unicorn noticed that she seemed to be the only sane out of the bunch. “W-What happened to us, w-where are we, Pinkie?”

Before Pinkie even spoke a word to Twilight, had her theory been confirmed once more. Twilight had woken up ten minutes after Rainbow. It seemed to be odd that the number ten came back just so often, but it didn't matter in the moment. Each of them were awake and seemed alright. Which only left the question of just where they happened to be.

“Hey Twi, good to have you back in the land of the wake again,” Pinkie spoke up without any of the usual happiness she carried in her tone. “Celestia knows where we ended up, but I think nightmares happened to each of us.”

That answer caused Twilight to tilt her head a little bit and look over all the other mares. Each of them just terrified for something. “I see what you mean. But from the looks of it, it looks like we are in Canterlot.”

“How do you know?”

“…You don’t want to know how many times Shining Armor either ended up here, or carried me here to visit a soldier he had beaten to the hospital. Sometimes, he doesn't even know his own strength,” Twilight returned with a chuckle to lighten the mood just a little bit.

It seemed to be working. Pinkie cracked a gentle smile and a single chuckle. Yet only then she fell right back in her bed while sighing deeply. There wasn't much that Twilight could be doing to lighten the mood other than being right. She could have prayed that either Luna or Celestia had any kind of explanation for them.

15 Questions arise, but no answers

The purple rimmed eyes of Twilight closed themselves for a moment or two. She released a deep sigh through her nostrils and called upon her magic once more. The magic itself moved the pillow to the back of the bed so that she could lean against it. After that would her eyes have opened up again and went to go over the equipment present in the room.

All that she could see were the heart monitors though. Whoever was doing the things to them, just wanted to monitor them instead of either helping or hurting them. It was something that even caused some confusion in the mind of Twilight. It was something not even she could have ever expected to happen. Yet it also opened up the other questions that were on her mind.

The how’s, the why’s, the what’s and the when’s. All questions she wanted an answer on but from the looks of it, wouldn't be getting one quick. Only after that did her eyes went over the rest of the room and thus over each of her remaining friends. Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy all were still shivering for their lives. None of them even have the slightest suspicion of what was happening.

“Girls,” Twilight spoke up in her normal tone. Though the moment she noticed that that wasn't helping one bit, she raised her tone a bit. “Girls!” All of the sudden had she gained the attention of every single pony that was present in the room. All the eyes were aimed at her and it was there and then that she needed to be showing, just how much of a leader she could be in the situations it was needed most.

“Look, I do not know what happened, but judging from each of your actions just yet and what I have been through, we all have been through a nightmare of some sort. But what it caused us to actually end up here and now, I do not know. I have spoken with Pinkie before, and from the looks of it, we are no longer in Ponyville. We are in Canterlot for as far as I know,” Twilight explained to them all. Her eyes slowly went over each of the mares, taking the time to inspect them whole.

It were words that caused each of the three remaining mares to tilt their heads on the bed before they all assumed the same position Twilight laid in. The pillow placed against the back so they could sit upright. “But,” Rainbow started, “you got any idea, of what could have happened to us?”

To that did Twilight just shook her head in response. While it technically could have been enough, the mare still found it her place to speak a few words here and there. “No Rainbow, I’m afraid I do not know anything about it. It could be the queen of the changelings, Sombra, or even Nightmare Moon who brought us to sleep,” she said to each of them.

“If, if I may say something,” Pinkie spoke up after Twilight was done talking. Suddenly was the attention aimed to her. All of the ponies noticed just that her mane were as flat as they could be. Meaning whatever it was the pink coated mare had dreamed through, had to be something really bad. “Each of you four, woke up ten minutes after the other. At least, for my feeling. Not sure if you can work with it or that it was just a lucky coincidence.”

Those words caused Twilight to fall silent and began to ponder in her mind. While all the others just wanted to speak about the things that had happened to them all, they never dared to say a word before Twilight had spoken again. Perhaps it would be a long wait for them, but at the moment they couldn't care less. All they wanted, were answers in some form or another. Though the ones they would be getting, perhaps weren't the best of it all.

~~~~

In the meantime and back in the dark crystal domain, Nightmare Rarity laid comfortable on the velvet cushioned sofa and snickered deep to herself. She had been watching the dreams of each of the mares with a literal front row seat. Everything that she saw was just more than perfect. “Oh the joy of toying with their fears, hmhmhm. But it isn't enough, they awoke from their nightmares for certain. Perhaps it is time to roll in the second round, or leave it for a third. Third time’s the charm, they always say,” she spoke up to herself in a sinister tone before a grin got formed across her lips.

Without another word had the darkened unicorn stood up from the sofa. She charged her horn up a little bit. Her body had turned itself into the direction of the balcony before the doors swung open. Without a sound she passed through. The cold winds of the Frozen North were the first thing that she encountered. A thing that gave her a small shudder before she simply stood still.

With the light of the moon that fell over the woods of White Tails, it caused the fog to almost dance in every direction she looked. Though it was the silence that truly dominated the entire area. The silence of the night, with almost every being asleep and the shepherds wandering quietly through the woods. Everything seemed to be so peaceful and calm. Though it was her, who controlled the gates of nothing but Tartarus itself. And the floodgates were about to be opened.

Her cat-like irises looked over all the visible land before a deeper grin formed itself below her muzzle. A grin that actually showed her jagged teeth just a little bit. Without a word or command did the four savage shadow stallions came out of the shadows they had been resting in. Each of them shook the liquids off of themselves. After that would they have taken place on either side of the mare. Two to her left and two to her right and standing just a bit behind her.

If anypony had seen the sight upon the balcony of that cursed tower would the shivers have been going down the spine. For the ever so hungry looks within the eyes of the savages was already more than enough nightmare fuel. But it was the insanity, the sinisterness, the determination and the ominous that could be seen in the eyes of Nightmare Rarity, that caused the biggest chill of it all.

Something that only got confirmed the moment her horn charged itself up with more power rapidly and was pointed straight in the skies. Not even two seconds later was there a massive blast of magical energy being shot towards the very moon itself. Much like how Celestia had once caused a shadow to be cast upon the rock, so would Nightmare Rarity have. Minus the banishment of her body that was while she also would be taking her time with it.

~~~~

Back in the room where the five mares laid, they had been talking to one another. The spoke about just what they could be done in order to make certain that they would be getting out of there. Plans of utter insanity were discussed all of the place but none of them was just clear as crystal. That was until Twilight hacked through the knot they had been talking themselves in. “Enough is enough. Whoever is doing this, wanted to monitor us, nothing else. I guess it is time to find out just who wanted to do this to us,” she said with confidence in her tone.

Not even seconds after she had finished her words did the magical lights in the room came to life. Lights that were simulating a warm and pleasant sunrise, albeit a bit sped up. “Oh, hello,” Twilight chuckled to herself. She had seen the type of magic before. Yet where she was interested and even intrigued, the others couldn't even understand just what was going through her mind.

While the room was being indulged in the warm and pleasant light, each of them had to admit that it did shake off the horrors of their nightmares. It almost felt like if they had been released from their own mental prison in one way or the other. Little did they knew, just how bad the things actually were for them. What other kind of mental prison they were captured in.

The white hospital walls and the beds were revealed to Twilight which meant they were definitely in Canterlot. Yet one other fact was revealed to each of the ponies. That wooden, oaken brown door with the window. How couldn't they have noticed that before? Not even Pinkie knew where it came from. “What in tarnation’s that all ‘bout?” Applejack spoke up while she kept on looking at the door.

Fluttershy wiped away her tears. She only released a small yelp while Rainbow was just dumbstruck. “…It’s, it’s a magical door,” Twilight stated almost in disbelief. “The door that you are seeing there, will only become visible the moment the lights are being turned on. It is usually… Oh for goodness sake! That can’t be it, right? Right?”

“What is it Twilight?” Rainbow asked to her. She had turned her gaze back to the mulberry mare. A mare who was holding her head in both of her forehooves and could almost be heard sniffing. It was a strange sight to see the normally so strong Twilight, broken down like that.

“This, they do that, to make certain, nopony escapes at night,” Twilight sniffled. All the others just couldn't believe it. While it was true that they saw the logic behind it but it wasn't as bad as the mare made it sound. That was until she spoke her next piece. “We’re not in any hospital, we’re in an insane asylum, girls. Canterlot Hospital’s, private insane asylum.”

All of the ponies gasped a bit for air as the revelation caused their courage to be sunken too deep in their hooves. If they truly had ended up in the place Twilight told them they were, nasty and terrible surprises would be waiting for them. “I’m not insane, you hear me!” Twilight cried out before she had raised her head back up and started to wheeze. “I am not insane!”

“Quit it, Twi, otherwise they think you are!” Rainbow spoke up in a hiss towards her mulberry friend. It was something that helped to a certain degree. “And please keep quiet, I heard steps coming, in this direction,” she added with a whisper in her tone.

All of the mares pointed their ears over into the direction of the doors and heard the steps indeed coming. Twilight managed to wipe her tears away before she took a couple of deep breaths through her mouth and simply started to wait. Wait until the thing they heard, would be coming through that door.

The handle started to move itself and the door was opened up. In the opening stood a pony which none of them had ever expected. It was a gray coated, light gray maned, aged stallion that wore the usual doctor’s coat and he gave each of the mares a friendly smile.

Baffled by the revelation, none of them could even speak a word to him. He walked in further while revealing his crimson red rimmed eyes to them all. The color combination seemed to be rather odd in their eyes. But then again, they had seen many different color pallets carried by ponies all over the land. Though the eyes were a little bit unsettling, to say the least.

“Good day ladies, it is a good thing that each of you have finally woken out of your, shall we say slumber. Before you ask, yes I am aware that you are having a lot of questions and allow me to answer a couple right here and now,” the doctor spoke up before he closed the door behind himself.

“Now, my name is no importance to either five of you. But what is known though, is that you are in a private section of the Canterlot Hospital. This wing, especially this room, is used normally for patients who have undergone some heavy narcotics and been out for the count for days. It was a request of her majesty of the sun herself to have you all transported over,” he added to his words.

Those words struck a truly massive confusion by each of the ponies as they looked at one another before they turned back to the doctor. “Perhaps it isn't my place to tell you all what has happened to each of you. They wanted to tell it themselves before any of you would be knowing it. If you please want to excuse me here for a moment, allow me to do a few check-ups and then I shall tell them you’re ready for them. Or that they are ready for you, whichever version you prefer.”

It was something none of the ponies could be doing anything against. The clipboard was summoned from the inside of his coat, together with a pencil. The board wasn't the biggest and thus could have easily fitted in one of the inside pockets that the coat carried. The standard procedure was being done by each of the ponies. Meaning that he looked at the device they were hooked on before carefully detaching them and looked deep in their eyes.

All just basic check-ups but since he had to do five mares and it took him a little bit longer then actually expected. Though luckily for him were each of them willing to cooperate. Though the silence that followed was something that was just as eerie as it possibly could have been. Something only broken by the occasional mumbling of the gray coated stallion.

~~~~

When he eventually had left them be, everything seemed to be fine in his book and the mares were left alone. It was Twilight who wanted to know the finer details more than anypony else in that room. All of the questions that were racing through her mind, she wanted and needed an answer on. An answer that should be given to her truly sooner than later, otherwise she could be classified as insane. At least she was already in the right institution should a thing like that have happened.

It was only a few minutes after the doctor’s departure that the door of the room opened itself again and a dark blue coated alicorn stepped inside. Only to soon be followed up by a much larger, white coated alicorn who closed the door. Both of the princesses of Equestria stood in the same room, with the remaining five elements of harmony. The looks they shared on their faces was everything but a good one.

“Oh no, w-what is it princess?” Twilight brought out. She could feel something was wrong. Terribly wrong even. Yet the other ponies kept their mouths together. Knowing what the doctor said, it would be the two of them who would be telling the story. Which was exactly what they did.

Luna moved herself over to the other side of the room. There she would be standing against the wall and gave each of them all a stern look. A look which the ponies were used to by then. The alicorn of the night still had troubles to adjust herself to the way things were done in the time she was living in, instead of a millennium ago. “Sister if you please,” the mare spoke up as she made a small gesture with her hoof to speed up.

Celestia nodded to the words and released a deep sigh through her nostrils. Whatever the news was going to be, it wouldn't be something pretty and they all knew that. “Two weeks ago, each of you were found sleeping in your beds. Two weeks ago, you all were as deep as anypony could have been asleep. But the sleep you all have been going through was everything but natural. Something caused you all to fall asleep. A powerful spell that neither myself nor my sister do have any hold over. Something that ancient and powerful, we couldn't believe it that it was cast upon you,” Celestia explained to all five of them.

“So, with all due respect, yar saying we've been asleep for, two whole weeks?” Applejack spoke up with a raised eyebrow. It was a fact that could hardly be believed.

Celestia nodded to confirm the words of the mare. “That is exactly what my sister is saying, yes. However, that doesn't solve everything. It merely shines upon just one aspect of the puzzle presented before us,” replied Luna. She calmly walked over to the middle of the room. “What we need to know, is exactly what you have dreamed about. As tough as it is going to be, we need to know exactly what happened in those.”

It was something that rose even more controversy to the mares. The mare of the night asked them, to tell about their dreams. “Hold on a minute right here!” Rainbow suddenly brought out. She began her interruption. Luna turned herself around in response and gave the cyan coated mare the full audience, something she couldn't have ever dreamed of. “Can’t you just look into our dreams and morph them to your will? Who’s to say you weren't to blame for what we ended up here.”

That did it for Luna. The words caused the trigger to be squeezed and the charge to be flown through the room, in the figurative sense. “Milady Dash, you do have a point that I can morph dreams to my own will, yes. Why do you think you hadn't had nightmares in such a long time to begin with? But that’s not the question here. The question is why. Why was I kicked out every single stinking time, I tried to look into your dreams? All I caught was this insane laughter of long ago. So you all need to be telling us exactly, just what happened in those dreams, and well now.”

The words caused Rainbow to gulp deep before Luna turned her attention back away from her. She would have returned to her place on the opposing side of the room. The time of talk was there. There just was no other way for them to do it. They had to be telling the royals exactly what they had been dreaming about. They all had tell everything to the fullest of detail.

~~~~

Which was the very thing that they did. Both Luna and Celestia listened with great care and attention to the words spoken by each of the mares. They tried to find the things they had in common and just two things seemed to be coming together when comparing each dream together. That they were a fear from each of the mares but also that they saw something for just the fraction of a second. The mysterious head and figure that floated around seemingly everywhere and nowhere.

“Could it be...” Celestia started. She allowed her own mind crack the facts as they were. “That Nightmare Moon has been returned once more? For whatever reason, through whatever reason?” It were words that caused Luna to raise an eyebrow to her sister. For everything that it could have been, she had to say the name she had been despising for so long by then.

Out of everypony was it Fluttershy who shook her head in response to those words. “No, it, it couldn't have been her,” she spoke up in a gentle whisper. One that was just loud enough for each of the ponies to hear it. Which was much to the relief of Luna. It meant that her alter ego wasn't the prime subject in the case. “The face, much too refined, hints to it yes, but not her exactly.”

“I thank you kindly for your input here, Fluttershy. But it still doesn't take away that we are dealing here with an ancient form of magic and threat, I’m afraid,” Celestia returned to her. She spread her wings a little bit in order to prevent them from going stiff or fall asleep. “But I am also afraid that it opens up a new question here. One of which the answer might be, different.”

“And that being?” Pinkie returned to her. She had removed a strand of mane from out of her eyes. It was a question that was well placed and each of the elements looked over to both of the princesses. None of them were certain, just who was going to answer it for them.

Though where most thought it would have been Celestia, it was in fact her younger sister who took the responsibility upon her. Once more she walked to the middle of the room and looked at each of the mares present, including her own sister. “The sheer question of just who else it could possibly be. Discord is stuck in stone, nopony has heard anything from king Sombra after his defeat and the changeling queen roams somewhere on the western forests,” she brought forth.

“Maybe, maybe it is a force left undiscovered until now?” Twilight added to the train of thoughts. It happened to be something that seemed unlikely. Yet at the same time, it appeared eerily plausible. A new force to threaten the lands of Equestria as they knew and loved it. Information became pretty much the most important weapon that they had at the moment. The need to exchange it with one another, was right there. Which was just the thing they would be doing with one another.

~~~~

The truth indeed happened to be that a new force had taken its grasp in the lands of Equestria. A force that was once hatred had returned and made its home in the body of generosity. A mixture that seemed to be toxic to the core. Both corrupting one another and thus creating a monster with a state of mind that was sharp, skilled and ever so deadly. A mind that still stood on the balcony of the dark crystal domain hidden deeply in the elusive woods of White Tails.

On the golden horizon it appeared slowly and drifting within the currents of the wind. An entire city that was built out of nothing but clouds drifted by. A city that was always on the move as if it had something to run away from. On the horizon appeared the mighty pegasus city of pride: Cloudsdale. It was a sight that was worth to kill for, especially with the shadows that it cast on the ground. It was still miles away on the horizon but with the rising sun in its back, the largest building of the city cast a shadow that stopped literally at the forehead of the unicorn.

It was a sight that made it all worth to her for standing out there for so long. A sight that she wouldn't forget any time soon either. The sight for perhaps her next plan of attack. Deep inside of her mind had both the plans and schemes been forged to make certain that even the city of pride knew that they shouldn't be as much try to capture her. She wanted to show them that they weren't even safe inside their own city. That nopony was safe within their own city or homes.

Though the plans had to wait. Other deeds needed to be done first. With the wind that blew the way it did, the city would just pass by over the horizon. Floating settlements and especially the city of Cloudsdale weren't allowed to float over forest areas by law. The massive shadows they could cast would be a true and massive disruption to the self-sustaining ecosystem that the woods had.

The hooves of the nightmarish unicorn walked down the spiraling staircase, all the way down until she stood once again in the courtyard of the domain. The queen gave her eyes the time to look over it. The savages had returned to the shadows where they thought to have belonged more than anywhere else in that very moment.

Nightmare Rarity’s lips once more curled themselves up to the grin. One of the false shepherds walked past the open entrance of the place. Without a warning given of anything, Nightmare Rarity merged herself with the shadows that surrounded her. She began to slither down another staircase. The very one that would be leading her over to a place she loved to come. There where she could toy around with the feeble minds of others, the dungeon itself.

The day wouldn't be any form of exception to make certain that each of the remaining prisoners would become lab rats for her sickening tests. She never ceased the testing her magical abilities and just how far she could be going. The storm that had been produced was only a small percentage of the true damage she could be doing. The subjects down below in the dungeon, they would just be perfect to receive the full mental blow without too much backlash.

Another day, another poor soul who would literally be touched by the worst fears and frights that it ever had. That was the manner in which the unicorn worked, almost sadistic some would say and most would agree. Though there was nothing they could be doing against except to spread the warning about not going into the woods. The only mistake happened to be, that some still dared to enter the haunted places. Only to end up paying a price far higher than they would have ever wanted or had expected.

~~~~

In the hospital of Canterlot was all of the information that was known exchanged between the royals and the mares. Everything was being discussed over and over again, up to the point where it almost had not a single point of going further anymore. It didn't matter where they would be going, it all ended up in nothing but a massive dead end. A dead end which was like a brick wall. One as high as they eye could see.

Moans and groans left the mouth of Twilight. She tried to find the thing that she had been forgetting somehow. There must have been something that she didn't saw the first time. One connection that could change everything they knew about the situation as a whole. Though her mind either didn't wanted to admit it what it knew or she genuinely didn't know it. The towel was thrown in the ring and she leaned back as deep as she could. “It’s hopeless, we will never figure out just what caused us to fall asleep this deeply. You sure it wasn't a joke of somepony, princess?” she said.

“The deeds done against you and the things my sister saw, were not a joke Twilight. The matter should be taken seriously whether you like it or not. Even if this was a joke, somepony really doesn't have a sense of humor,” Celestia replied to her. She was still standing on the exact same spot as to when she entered. Only her wings had been tucked back against the body.

Luna on the other end, was still leaning against the wall and looked over to her sister with a cutting glare. “Pretty much like yourself, you want to say?” she whispered just loud enough so that only Fluttershy could hear it. Who in response released a small giggle and cracked the lunar princess a small smile.

“There is of course…” Applejack started before she shook it off again. “Nah, can’t be.” Though whether the cowgirl liked it or not, she had managed to get the interest of everypony in the room. All of the eyes were suddenly aimed right at her and her own started to go from left to right in a nervous manner. “Oh boy,” the mare yelped out before a gulp was released.

It was Celestia who then took a step forward. She looked almost stern into the eyes of the cowgirl. “Applejack, if there is anything you want to tell, please do it now. Any input on the matter might be of great help,” the princess brought forth, hoping for some good news for a change.

The orange coated mare gulped once again deep. She formulated the manner of speech in her mind before exhaling long and slow. “Right then, but ya’ll ain't gonna be liking it. Ah've been thinking ‘bout just what happened to us all, and Ah think it is all connected to one thing. Call it farfetched or a hunch if you like, but Ah think that Rarity’s behind it all,” she brought to the table.

Those words alone caused all the ponies to start mumbling to one another already but Applejack was long from being finished. “If Ah may again!” she huffed out to each of them and gradually the attention was turned back to her. “Thanks. Y’all wanna know proof, right? Well, think ‘bout it. Rarity’s gone missing to who knows where, suddenly the fog in White Tails drives ya crazy and all those strange disappearances. Ti all a little convenient, ain't it? Ah mean, just look at the facts given here and tell me that it ain't Rares. Want even more proof? The face in our dreams, too refined for Moon, and the only mare Ah know that’s refined like that, is Rarity.”

“So, Applejack,” Luna started after she finally turned herself away from the wall and looked over to the cowgirl with a truly interested gaze in her eyes. “What you are saying is that Rarity is the source of this all? That she somehow is caught up as either the suspect or another victim?”

“Ah ain't saying she’s the main subject aloud. Not yet at least, yar highness, but the facts and figures do point in that direction,” Applejack returned with a certain confidence in her tone. A confidence none of the other mares could possibly even understand just how or why she could speak in. “Ah’m just saying it here, ‘member?”

Celestia was the only one who gave a nod to the words spoken by the cowgirl and released a deep sigh through her nose. She had the idea already that there was something wrong with Rarity. The necklace of generosity had been darkened for all that time, but that fact was never shared to any of them for their own good. If they would have discovered it in that way, that it was one of their beloved friends who had taken down the dark path, who was to say just they wouldn't follow? Rarity was known to be able to persuade ponies into doing her bidding. The thought of doing it to each of the mares in their dreams was one that always stuck to Celestia no matter what.

Though the accusation of Applejack caused an uproar of emotions by each of the ponies. None of them could even believe the fact that it was Rarity who did it, or that she was found guilty of doing so. Yet the more each of them thought about the status of the events as they happened to be, none of them could deny that it all walked in nicely over one another.

Uncertainty was the emotion that filled the hospital room for the moment. All of the sounds died down and only their breathing could be heard. If there was one thing Luna hated more than anything, it was that cursed emotion. Whether the others liked it or not, she so had her own thoughts on the matter and wouldn't have been afraid to speak them.

“You know, I think that Applejack here is right. Everything she says does make sense when you place it behind everything. The disappearance, the fog and the attacks. I’m sorry but, Rarity is the one behind it all for some reason not even I can figure out. Somehow, she must have gotten the powers to do those things. Perhaps she is possessed by the remains of Sombra. We do not know the reasoning behind it. But what we do know, is the fact that she is the one causing the trouble,” spoke Luna while she had each of her hooves firm against the ground.

Another uproar was the thing that she had expected from the ponies and was almost exactly the thing she would be getting. For each of the six mares, almost shouted against her that it wasn't possible for Rarity to even consider such a thing. But during all of the sounds, two ponies went into a different conversation with one another. One that couldn't be heard by the ears of the other ponies. For both Luna and Celestia opened up a mental connection to one another.

You know just as well I know that Rarity is behind this all, so why don’t you back me up in this sister, thought Luna in a growling tone. Though she never missed a single word that was spoken against her. “Look Rainbow, I’m also just going by the words that I have heard and placing everything on a line, it does make sense. I know it is hard to accept for you, for you all actually, but you have to if you want to understand everything that’s going on here,” she replied to the pegasus.

Oh now you have gone too far Luna! We are supposed to keep it all a secret for their own good. If they discover now that Rarity has been corrupted by any sort of force, they want to organize a search party and I am not going to risk the remaining elements, replied Celestia in thought. She was the only royal who actually kept herself quiet. Next to the conversation, she was also pondering her mind in order to get some clearance out of it all.

~~~~

“Enough!” Twilight suddenly yelled in the middle of the argument. Her voice literally rose itself up far above every other voice in the room and slowly the silence took over again. All of the eyes looked to her before the royals broke their mental connection. Everypony wanted to know exactly what it was Twilight thought about and what she had to be saying. “Look at all of you, bickering like chickens without a head on the assumption, on the assumption, that one of our friends became this dark mistress. We have been asleep for two weeks and this is the first thing we are doing?! Bickering like we do?! Are all of you sane in your heads? Maybe we should be placed in the asylum of this place just to make sure, none of us does anything stupid!” the mare said before she finished with a huff.

The words that Twilight spoke to every single pony came straight from the heart. They were shot like arrows to those of the others. It was painful to listen to for certain but the truth was always a hard thing to accept. Slowly did each of them lower their head in shame. That was with the exception of Luna and Celestia. The royals themselves just released a deep sigh. Though where Celestia showed compassion for her beloved pupil, Luna seemed to be caring anything less.

Twilight looked over all of the ponies as a single tear slowly left her eye and streamed over her cheek. “We, we’re supposed to be friends who support each other through thick and thin. And not be fighting in the manner as we did. Maybe, maybe we all just need another good night rest. Two weeks asleep is all fine and such, but if you live a nightmare, it becomes everything but.”

All of the mares gave a nod to the spoken words of Twilight. Though none of them even dared to speak against her. Everything that she preached actually hit them right where she wanted it to be. Her goal was achieved, but another one was broken.

Princess Luna had the feeling that none of the ponies took her words serious, especially after having witnessed just where her words had been leading to. Matters took her mind over again. Matters that couldn't be expressed in any way to the mares as they couldn't understand it for one bit for certain. Luna needed some time for just herself. That was almost exactly what she did.

Without a single words spoken by her side had the alicorn of the night left the room for the trouble that it was. She barged passed her sister and closed the door behind her. Once she was on the hallway, did she shook her head a couple of times. It was in the faint hope to get everything straight again but it didn't help out one bit. That meant that there was only one more way she would possible be getting any peace in her skull. A way that seemed to be unorthodox to say the least.

Luna would have started to wander through the building until she had reached the exit. Sometimes ponies spoke up against her, but they were ignored all the time by her. Her mind needed to focus on one matter at the time and the matter that she had chosen was one she felt personally affected by. Whatever she would have been planning in her mind, it couldn't be done in the hospital.

Minutes later did the alicorn stand out by the entrance of the hospital and she allowed her wing to spread themselves. “There must be proof, of any kind,” Luna whispered to herself before she rocketed off into the skies above. The same morning skies in which the nightmarish unicorn watched Cloudsdale travel by on the horizon.

Soaring through the skies like a comet, Luna traveled away from Canterlot and with a massive loop in her flight patterns. She seemed to be heading towards Ponyville. Or to perhaps be a bit more exact, the abandoned building where the unicorn of generosity once lived. She wanted to find the evidence she needed. The only place she could be doing that was right there in Ponyville. Right within the walls of the abandoned Carousel Boutique. Questions had been raised from every single side. But that place, that very place could be having all the answers she needed. If not, only more questions would arise.

16 Supreme hierarchy

Lighting was the only thing that covered the four walls of the sealed off room. The terrified screams of a stallion were the only sounds to be heard in the near distance. All of his frights and fears were presented to him in a manner that not even the fog of the woods could have done. All of it just seemed to be so realistic, all of it seemed to be really there for him. Which managed to scare the literal, living daylight out of him.

His soul piercing screams didn't do anything to the attacker though. The attacker herself just remained in the same battle ready position. She had been standing like that for a few minutes in fact. The horn was aimed directly at the stallion’s head and the blast went straight through it and into the brain. It was the worst kind of torture that any pony could be suffering within the dark crystal domain. The worst part of it all, had to be the fact that none of the captives could know when they would be taken. When they would be taken for the testing of the unicorn her powers.

When the lightning eventually did fade away and the horn discharged itself, the head of Nightmare Rarity arose itself again. Her eyes narrowed themselves down to small slits. Almost as if she was trying to figure out if he was carrying something with him. The smoke left her horn while the gem got gently relocated on top of it. That very gem had to be the thing that was the main source that caused her abilities to become as powerful as they were.

Though the stallion in front of her couldn't speak a word nor do a deed. He was completely out for the count and had lost all sense of the real world. Which was just about the thing that the unicorn wanted from him. She wanted to know just how much of her energy it took –when conducted straight to the head– before somepony became blacked out from her magic. With a huff had she turned herself over to the arcane clock that hung over the door and read the time off of it.

“Not even two whole minutes before the mind enters the unconscious state. Interesting, highly interesting,” the nightmarish unicorn mumbled to herself. Then her head turned itself back over to the poor stallion and a smirk formed itself below her muzzle. There would be so many more thing she wanted to do with him, but the time to rest had fallen upon her and him. “We shall proceed another day, at another time, with this session.”

With those words spoken had Nightmare Rarity turned herself around and opened the door of the chamber. On the other side of the door, her most trusted commanders were waiting to bring him back to his cell. “Fright, Blood, I have something special for this particular stallion. Drop him before the inn on either side of the woods with the supplemental message. This is going to be another screamer.”

Both of the stallions bowed their heads to the desire of their queen when she walked by. Though just as they were about to enter the room, the horn of the mare charged itself up and they were both brought right to her face. “Don’t fail me again!” she snarled in a hiss towards them. The charge released them both and they were dropped on the ground.

Fright was the first one to rub his skull while Blood still needed to stand up from the drop. Though the both of them ended up looking to the fact of how the tail of the queen disappeared upon the staircase, before it went out of their view. “I’m telling you, if you mess it up one more time, I’m going to put you down,” grumbled Shadowblood to his comrade after he had gotten up again.

“Oh you just quit your blabbering and do what has been told to you. If it weren't for your stupidity, we wouldn't have been in this mess you know,” Shadowfright replied to him. He was the first to enter the room. He looked over the unconscious stallion. A massive grin formed itself on his face when he saw the stallion. “Oh this is going to be fun indeed,” he brought out in a tone that was filled with venom, but also hinting towards sadistic joy.

When Blood peeked his head into the room, the eyes of him opened themselves widely and he started to chuckle to himself in a manner only a hyena could have been doing that. Something that caused even Fright to raise an eyebrow to him. “…I think I found a new nickname for you,” he whispered softly to the other but it was never caught in the ears.

~~~~

With the departure from Luna out of the hospital, the deed was resting on the shoulders of Celestia to maintain the order. She had to keep order in the room where the five mares had been brought to come by again. Though it wouldn't have been easy, especially with a pony like Fluttershy. Celestia had conjured a mattress for herself to lay down on so. That way she didn't had to stand all the time or lay down on the cold floor. Though the moment she had been lying down, it wasn't Twilight who was the first to go to her. Instead it was the pink maned, yellow coated pegasus who took that honor.

With the facts presented as they were and Rarity possibly having taken the path down the road of darkness, it scared Fluttershy. Even more than being smashed as she was being turned to stone. Almost like a lightning bolt did the mare darted over to Celestia, before literally clinging to her side like a foal. A big one that was, but one nonetheless. “S-Sorry,” the pegasus whispered up just before she loosened up the grip against the princess a little bit.

What happened then was something a bit unexpected for them all. The wing against which Fluttershy laid, untucked itself before it was being placed over her. “Don’t be sorry for it little Fluttershy, we are all afraid of something and we all need somepony to comfort us from time to time,” Celestia whispered to her. Almost as a mother could have been able to do. It seemed odd, especially in the eyes of Twilight, but it was what it was.

Speaking of Twilight, she had gained a small blush on her face. She knew pretty much how it felt to be under those big, softly feathered wings of the alicorn princess. Fluttershy had buried her face in both her mane as well as the side of Celestia while she laid under the big wing. Celestia couldn't do much else then to allow a gentle chuckle to her. The nose of the pegasus tickled her side a bit more than she would have liked.

“Loved those moments with you, princess,” Twilight softly whispered in return. She came back to the there and then with a smile visible upon her face. It was something that caused the others to raise an eyebrow to her. Perhaps she did spoke it up perhaps a little bit too loud.

Yet in the time they were awake, each of them had come to terms with the nightmares. They had to admit that they were terrifying to say the least, but it at least was a lot better than actually living through it. But they were what they were, just dreams. The only one who still needed to understand that, was actually Fluttershy. Who seemed to be oddly comfortable under the wind of the alicorn in the eyes of Rainbow.

“If I may speak so for myself here Twilight, I did quite enjoy them as well,” Celestia returned in a soft whisper to her most faithful student.

Even though everything seemed to have calmed down, none of them could ever get the facts out of their heads. None of them could even wrap their heads around the fact that Rarity could have been able to access their dreams. Not to mention cause the wave of terror to have fallen upon them. But they were also quite aware that the ivory mare loved to keep a secret or two when it came down to the core. Even though she was their friend, Rarity still had some unanswered questions for them.

So who was to say that she hadn't been waiting for months already to get them in the manner she did? Who was to say that she hadn't been dealing with shady figures to gain the knowledge she needed in order to make certain that the events walked as they did? It were just some of the question that were racing through each of the ponies their minds. Though none even dared to ask them.

Which perhaps was a good thing. Because neither Celestia nor Twilight herself would have the answers to them. Even they could only assume to the facts as they were and from the looks of it, those facts weren't looking pretty to say the least. The more they thought about Rarity, the more grim everything seemed to have become around her. To a great sadness for her friends in response.

They wanted the answers for the deeds just so badly. Though there wasn't a single thing where they could be pointed it out on. All that they had were speculations and rumors combined with both their thoughts and dreams. Madness seemed to have taken them over and they would probably be given their right as well. However, there always was that hint of her innocence. That Rarity hadn't done it out of free will. But that –as well as her deeds– also needed to be proved.

Once again they were left with only the questions and never seemed to be getting the answers. “Princess, may I ask where your sister happened to be off to?” Twilight said all of the sudden. It was mostly done in order to break the silence.

The question in and of itself was something that caused the alicorn to look over to her student with a questioning gaze. The silence on her side remained intact for a few more seconds before it was broken, and the reply was given. “If I only knew where exactly she has been going off to this time. It can be Everfree, it can be here in Canterlot. I just don’t know where she has been gone to. Perhaps she’s circling the hospital in order to make certain that her head is being emptied from every thought she deems to be ‘not worthy’ on the matter.”

That was an answer that caused the unicorn to tilt her own head to one side and raise an eyebrow. “I’m, not sure whether I follow you here, your highness,” Twilight replied as honest as she could. She couldn’t make anything to the words spoken against her.

A small sigh was released through the nostrils of the white alicorn. That was just before she thought about a manner to make her words sound less complicated to her student. “When a unicorn, or alicorn, reaches a certain level in the arcane arts, that pony can be thought the ability to take thoughts or memories out of its own mind and store them in arcane bottles. It helps to clear out the mind if it is needed but you still contain all the precious memories.”

“Then,” Twilight continued softly, “why haven’t you thought me yet?” It was a bold question and she knew that long before she had even asked it. But with her own abilities and strengths in magic was she almost positive she had been gone past the levels that Celestia spoke about.

Every question that was ever asked, needed to have an answer to it. Yet the one of Twilight was not an exception in the slightest. Though if the answer to it would have been liked by her was a question in and of itself. The princess herself had started to chuckle a little bit. Which caused the other mares to look at her with a questioning gaze. “Take this from me, Twilight, you are far from ready for that kind of spell. Your mind is something pure and unique, no need to work on that now, is there?” the always calm voice of the mare spoke through the room.

Twilight listened to the answer that was given to her. She couldn't even begin to understand of just why Celestia would have said something like that. Though going into an argument with her mentor, especially on the time that it happened to be in the situation they were in, it was better that she kept her mouth shut. Which was almost exactly the thing that she did.

It was a sight that caused Rainbow to chuckle to herself and Applejack to hum some songs of the past to herself. Songs that reminded her of home. Slowly but surely did all of the ponies listen to the tunes that were hummed by the cowgirl and all of them found some parts that they liked into it. Much to the princess her own surprise, even she found a piece or two.

~~~~

“And there we go,” Shadowfright spoke up with a chuckle in his voice after they had dropped the still unconscious stallion near one of the inns by the forest. “Now we just leg it, everything should be doing its job nicely.” Shadowblood gave him a firm nod. He had dropped the stallion to the ground. When they made their departure, the both of them gave the inn as well as the unconscious body one last look before they turned back into the woods of White Tails.

In the end were the two of them just two mere shimmers or dark blobs that could be seen in the fog. Blobs that ended up merging themselves with the natural darkness that the fog created. It caused them to lose any set of eyes that may or may not have been looking at the two of them.

Through the silent forest did the two of them travel like it was a normal day of the week. They weren't affected by the fog of the woods because it only worked on the minds of ponies and other living creatures. The thing was, that they were everything but living creatures. They were shadows themselves. Shadows that could take a physical form and actually wander around if they saw so fit.

Along their way back to the domain, they encountered a few of the infamous false shepherds patrolling the woods. The creatures left the two of them alone. Mostly because they had smelled the reeking scent of the shadows that covered both of their bodies. Ponies, especially those in terror actually released a scent much different then what the shadows would have produced.

Fright and Blood indulged themselves in a conversation with one another that seemed to be going all over the place. But on one thing they had to agree, that the queen they had then seemed to be a lot better than the original one. But they never could leave it to speak about plans to take over.

A thing that was a massive mistake for the both of them. They could speak about those plans all they wanted of course, but that was inside the walls of the domain. Then they were out in the fog covered woods and literally everything had ears that streamed back to the unicorn herself. A unicorn who became everything but happy as she heard the words that were spoken about her.

“So those two foals still think they can beat me in my own game, don’t they?” Nightmare Rarity muttered to herself. She sat upon her throne with a grin. The darkness that surrounded her had to be one of the purest out there which made it almost impossible to see her sitting upon the chair. Yet at the foot of the whole thing, the four savages sat in a manner that royal guards would.

The eyes of the unicorn lowered themselves down to the guard dogs and she grinned deeply to them. “Find them both, and teach them a lesson for me, would you kindly?” she spoke to them in a sadistic tone. Then there was a howl given off by one of them. In an instant were they off. Off to make certain that the two shadow stallions wouldn't make the mistake again of taking over while they were under her reign.

Like predators hunting for their prey had they rushed up the stairs to the ground level of the domain. They then galloped out of the place through the front gate. Nightmare Forces who happened to have seen them going the way they did, couldn't believe the things that they saw in their eyes. Never had they seen the savages so angry and thirsty for something. None of the forces could determine just what it was they were after, but they wanted it badly.

~~~~

Time came and went before the gray coated doctor knocked upon the door once again. Celestia was the one who opened it for him. “Good day, doctor, I hope you’re having good news for the patients I have taken under my care?” Celestia spoke to him in her calm and serene voice. Something that caused all of the other mares to tilt their heads. The princess wanted to know just what was going to happen to them. What could be happening to them, in fact.

“Yes your highness. I have analyzed every last bit there is and everything seems to be in order. Some odd readings when it came down to the fact of the magic in their bodies, but from what you have told me, you might want do what your proposed earlier today,” the doctor replied to the words of Celestia. Who on her turn nodded her head. She quietly thanked the stallion for all his help.

Though it was Twilight who couldn't keep her curiosity together. So she just asked the question that was flowing on her mind. “What was that all about princess?” Upon hearing the question could Rainbow Dash almost crash her hoof through her face. She was at the point of wanting to scream the answer straight into Twilight’s face. Though somehow she managed to calm herself down. Either that, or she didn't wanted to break in violence in front of the princess of the sun.

“What it means, my faithful student, is that you will be fired from the hospital and brought over to the guest wing in the castle. While also protecting your heads from the magic that still lurks inside of them. Because if you would be falling asleep now, it is uncertain when you would be waking up. It’s for your own safety,” replied Celestia. All the mares could understand the concern that was given off by her.

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack all left the beds and awaited the instructions of where they needed to be going. Much to the surprise of the princess herself who gave of a gentle chuckle. “You really thought we would be walking over the streets, out in the open where everypony can see you? Even spy on you? I’m afraid I can’t allow that. Not with the threat on the world outside still out there. Twilight, I am quite certain that you will be known just what is going to happen next, so I ask you to say what I always say,” the princess spoke to them all.

Twilight gave her mentor a gentle nod before the smirk grew upon her face. For she almost exactly knew what was going to be happening. “Girls, hold on tight. This might get bumpy.” All of the mares looked at one another, before they clinged to each other and Twilight herself. Celestia released a small chuckle at the scene before her horn charge itself up in the signature golden aura.

“I thank you, doctor, for everything and perhaps in time, we meet one another again,” the alicorn spoke up to the good stallion with a friendly smile upon her face.

“Oh I do hope that as well, your majesty, I do only hope it is under more favorable circumstances.” the doctor replied before he started to wave at all of them. “Au revoir.” Then it happened, under a massive burst of energy from Celestia were all six of the ponies engulfed in a sea of golden light as the surroundings tore itself to pieces. Shreds of reality were falling around them like pieces of torn apart paper.

Applejack screamed murder and fire as she had not a single clue of what was going on while Twilight rolled with her eyes. Rainbow and Pinkie simply looked their eyes out while the signature puff in the mane could be heard. But where the old world was torn away, in the gaps created appeared a new one.

~~~~

It took them only seconds in reality, but it felt like minutes until the golden waves of energy seemed to be stopping and they all stood in a space they knew. “Well this is interesting for certain, Canterlot guestroom?” Twilight asked to the skies. To which Celestia gave only a simple nod in response.

With a certain gentleness did the alicorn stood up again. She let Fluttershy lay carefully on the ground though. “This is indeed the guest room yes, but during the teleportation I also protected her mind from the magic that has invaded it. See it as a virus becoming contained by your body. You won’t feel a thing, but might become a little bit sleepless. Just a fair warning.” The horn of the mare charged itself up again and would have levitated the body of Futtershy over to one of the beds.

“But what ‘bout her? She’s already asleep,” Applejack claimed while she watched the body travel by. Then she looked back to Celestia herself. All the others had to stand by the cowgirl once again. She did ended up having quite the good point for each of them.

Celestia gave the mares a gentle smile before the horn discharged itself as a while. The pegasus had been placed upon a bed with care. “It’s rather simply actually. You’ll have to understand that it was me who also brought her to sleep. She seemed to be the one who needed it most given how her and Rarity have been so close over the years,” the princess told to them.

It was an explanation most of the ponies could get behind and rather left go by then to question it. “Though if you will excuse me, I’m afraid I have to be leaving you for the moment. If there is ever anything you require my help with, simply visit me in the throne room or ask the guards that stand on either side of the doorway. May you enjoy the time here in the castle and it’s gardens,” said Celestia before she turned herself around to make her departure from the four of them.

“Princess, wait!” Twilight called up. “Where can we go and where can’t we go?” The question was something that had been bobbling on her mind for the moment since she became aware just what Celestia had done to each of them.

“Don’t go out of the boundaries of the castle and you should be safe, my subjects. Now if you will excuse me, there are other things that I have on my mind as well.” With that had Celestia just left them on their own to discuss the matters that were on their minds.

All four of the ponies were a little bit baffled by the fact that the magnitude of the operation did came as far as it indeed had come. Each of them dropped themselves down on a chair or sofa that surrounded the fireplace in the middle of the room. “Ah still don’t get it, how Ah could have been alive in that dream. Ah mean, Ah was wandering through the house without any idea and only after Ah found mah own gravestone, the house seemed to have burned down,” Applejack brought out. She could have only tried to wrap her head around the facts as they were.

“Dreams are a powerful thing, Applejack, it is something that you know perhaps even better than I do. But then again, that flexible dimension window seemed to be quite the achievement, even in the dream that I was going through. It’s like, every last little attention to detail was truly given to our dreams,” Twilight replied to the three of them as she started the fire.

“Not to mention, how Fluttershy encountered those gorgonies, are those even there, Twilight?” Pinkie questioned. She just wanted to be certain of things at that point in time.

The mulberry unicorn looked over to the pink mare before she gave a nod. “I’m afraid that their race truly exists, or still exists shall we say. Myself and Rarity once went on expedition through the woods in the hope to find them. Or at least what was left of their culture. Ran into a bit more trouble than we bargained for, especially Rarity,” Twilight said to them, remembering the events.

Those words alone caught Rainbow to do something she normally didn't. Which was to think deep about everything. Something just didn't seem to be adding up in her mind and she wanted to know exactly what that happened to be. “Hold on a minute here, Twi. You said you and Rarity went out to find the gorgonies? Doesn't that support the theory of Applejack in the least bit?”

Blinks were being made by the three remaining mares suddenly. They didn't fully understood the words that were spoken by Rainbow for a bit. “I mean, think about it for a second here, the levels of detail placed inside of our nightmares, your meeting the gorgonies with Rarity, it can only me-”

“Quit your babbling Rainbow, it ain't solving anything,” interrupted Applejack interrupted without a warning. “Just ‘cause one of the dreams comes over to one another, ain't proving anything,” the cowgirl explained before she huffed deeply. “Ah don’t wanna be a gamebreaker here, but think ‘bout the dream of Pinkie, Twi and mahself here for a moment. None of us ever even spoke about those subject with Rares. So how exactly would have come to know the things we have dreamed about?”

It was a direct slap in the face for Rainbow who crossed her forelegs over one another and huffed deeply towards the cowgirl. “Well you aren't helping much either.”

“Cause Ah only speak when Ah’m asked, ‘member partner?”

“Element of honesty everypony, kiss my flank,” muttered Rainbow to herself, a bit too loud.

“Ah heard that.”

“Good!”

~~~~

All the way over in the woods of White Tails were both Shadowfright and Shadowblood wandering through the thick fog. They didn't seem to be having any problem to either lose one another, or to lose their heading. They were blinded by the fog though. Not a single form of life could be witnessed up to a couple hoof in front of them. It was something that both caused some concern in their minds, but also satisfied them. It meant to them that the place was still as secure as they always had it.

Little did they knew just what was racing their way. Both of the shadow stallions were just chatting with one another had dropped the subject of taking over the domain from the unicorn herself. Yet where they dropped it, the unicorn hadn't. Through the eyes of one of the savages was she following the events on the hooves. Her eyes literally linked to that one of them, she was almost part of the action. “Make sure they won’t forget it, who is really in charge of this all,” Nightmare Rarity spoke up with a sadistic tone in her voice.

In response to the words would the savages have released a howl through the air. One that announced their coming before the galloping was pushed even harder. Both of the shadow stallions almost came to a standstill as soon as they caught the sounds in their ears. It seemed to be unreal that those creatures had been sent out to get something in the dreaded woods. Whatever it was they were out for, it was close to the both of them. Perhaps even a little bit too close for their liking.

“What do you think they have been send out for this time?” Blood spoke up. He pressed his body against one of the tree trunks to get out of the way. His eyes looked over to Fright with the questioning and uncertain gaze in them. There wasn't much they were afraid of, but the four of them were right on the number one spot.

“How the hell am I supposed to know that?! I am not sniffing her flanks all the time!” Fright returned in hisses towards the other stallion. He also had taken his position against one of the trees. Both of their ears heard them coming in the distance. That insane clopping of hooves. Hooves that were stomped into the ground as if the hunting season have been opened.

“Don’t kill them though. I need them whether I like it or not,” spoke Nightmare Rarity as the final command given to her personal guards. Who on their own turns began to bark like a rabid dog to one another. They would have separated in groups of two after that. The charge was almost there and the prey had been located through the fog.

Both Fright and Blood kept themselves quiet against the trees. The hooves seemed to be disappearing out of the air. Though the time of celebrating wasn't there yet. They knew that every last moment, they could strike out and walk in their paths. Their hearts for as much as they had them, were pounding straight in their throats. Their breathing animation had almost stopped.

They wanted to merge with the shadows so badly. Though that action would be noticed straight away by any force that was in the nearby area. The both of them closed their eyes and kept on waiting for thirty agonizing seconds. It was only after that, that they heard the sounds they didn't wanted to hear.

Each of the savages jumped straight out the bushes behind them and landed in front of either of the shadow stallions. The commanders were surrounded by the beasts and Fright actually dared to open up his eyes and look straight into one of the beast’s eyes. “P-Parley?” he asked them in a low tone that was almost inaudible for any creature to be heard.

All the way back within the borders of the domain, high up in the tower and on her sofa laid the darkened unicorn with the smirk upon her face. “And, teach them the lesson they are required to know,” the mare instructed to the savages through the mental connection. Which in return caused each of the creature to roar like a timberwolf.

The eyes of both Fright and Blood opened themselves wide while they pleaded for their lives. Though they were unable to prevent the beasts from jumping on top of them. Screams of agony had begun to fill the woods of White Tails. Screams that originated out of the two commanders themselves.

~~~~

Applejack grumbled a little bit after the words Rainbow had spoken. Her nightmare was of course still fresh in her mind and the fear that was located behind it was a thing that she never wanted to experience herself. Though in order to get the accusation of Rarity out of her mind, there had to be coming a new theory around the block which would help to get the train of thought off of her. “But what ‘bout that changeling queen? Chrysalis was her name, right? She’s seen around certain places, but who’s to say it was really her? Perhaps she had assumed the form of Rarity and it are actually her changelings, that wander through the woods of White Tails as we speak. Ah mean, those buggers can change into everything, now can’t they?”

The mare had come up with a likely theory, but it seemed that the support of Rainbow Dash had fallen already. After the mockery a mere couple minutes ago, they couldn't be caring less about what the other thought. “It’s a likely theory indeed,” Twilight replied before she gently rested her eyes on Pinkie. “But just like those legs of her, it is riddled of holes. I do not think we can actually discover just what is going on, who’s to blame and over all, by the way that we are doing the things. Not just yet though. Well, except making our time here as least dreadful as possible. With that I mean the both of you. Your screaming and hollering doesn't really help all that much,” the mare added to her words. She pointed to both the pegasus and the orange earth pony.

“Well excuse me, princess.” Rainbow spoke up in a nagging tone before she stood up.

“Where are you going?” Pinkie suddenly spoke up, proving herself to still be wide awake despite her unusual silence.

“Gonna be stretching my wings a little bit here. Yes, I will stay in the borders given by Celestia, bla, bla, bla, I am not a filly anymore,” replied Rainbow to all the mares before was just gone. Her hooves carried her over to the door and from there, she flew away into the skies.

Twilight shook her head a little bit and stood up herself as well. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to get some shut eye as well. Maybe I can think a bit more clear afterward on this entire mess. Let’s face it here girls, we have gone from the frying pan into the fire.”

Pinkie and Applejack wished the mulberry unicorn goodnight. They kept on sitting by the fire and ponder their minds in silence. With Rainbow soaring through the skies above the castle, calm had returned to the room given to the five friend. Yet the peace was far from present. It was nowhere to be found actually. Perhaps it was to the sadness from some of them, but at the moment and in their bitterness, they couldn't care.

The unicorn dropped herself upon her bed and turned herself away from the fires, facing the shadows. A deep sigh was the left thing that left through her nostrils before one tiny tear traveled down her cheek. A tear of questions left unanswered and events happened.

~~~~

Celestia may have said that she was going to be doing one thing, but she ended up doing another. The mighty alicorn of the day never had returned to the throne room. Instead she was wandering through the hallways of the castle without any actual aim to her legs. It caused some of the guards to gain a bit of confusion and suspicion but when they looked into her magenta rimmed eyes, they could actually read the genuine sadness and own confusion inside of them. And that was more than enough for them to back off again.

Though the atmosphere within the castle itself wasn't the one that Celestia was looking for. She had to get out and get some fresh air, as well as a few fresh intakes in her mind when it came down to the matter. A deep sigh was released through her mouth while the gears in her mind were just stopped. The tunes of times long forgotten were remembered by her. Calm and peace was the thing that she needed at the moment. It was the thing she hoped to get as well.

Perhaps there happened to be just one place where she would be able to get such a thing for herself. A place wide in the open yet that could be as personal as her bedroom. With hurry in her hooves did the alicorn wander through the hallways of the castle, until she came to a set of doors. A set of doors that she knew all too well and smiled upon them. The horn allowed itself to be coated in the golden aura as she looked at the very markings of the door itself.

Markings that went back to the time where she was still a filly and her sister a foal. The castle they lived in was ancient and every last bit showed it. Though despite the age did everything work like a charm. The doors opened without a hitch in their hinges. The sight that was revealed to Celestia was that of the setting sun over the statue garden.

Before her laid a garden where she came perhaps more often than not. Especially if her mind had something that troubled itself more than anything. It was perhaps the one place where she could relive history to the best of her abilities without actually going back in time.

Out of all the statues that could be found within the garden, those of great unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies from past times, there was one that stuck out pretty much like a sore thumb. One statue that was actually an ancient enemy of her. A statue that belonged to a mish mash of different creatures in a pose as it wanted to avoid something or block it.

“Discord,” spoke Celestia in a whisper. She sat down on her hunches before the statue. The statue which held the chaos god his rightful place. It allowed him to hear everything that was going on, and sometimes return the words. Though the history between the two of them went much, much deeper than just that. It was a history that ponies didn't need to know, and never would either.

In whispers that were just barely audible through the winds themselves, Celestia spoke every last little detail against the statue. Everything that she knew with the exception of the element being turned to dark was told against him. It was all in that vague hope that she somehow would be getting an answer of the maniacal madman.

Unfortunately was she out of luck. The statue himself remained silent for all of the time. Much to the sadness of the princess herself, who had reached the edge of desperation.

17 Fillies remain fillies

It would have been the day after the mares had awoken from their slumbers again. They were being brought over to Canterlot to stay for the time being. Though at the same time, there were three little fillies that went to set a few events in motion. Things that had been planned ever since the rumors of the dreaded first surfaced. Three little fillies who actually dared to fight against fate itself in order to have just that little bit of fun for themselves.

Though little did they knew just what was fact and what was fiction. It still didn't matter for the three of them in the least bit. As long as they had their fun in it, they could be doing literally everything and going pretty much everywhere. All of their endeavors and all of their troubles could be blamed on one tiny little thing. One thing that drove many older ponies to the brink of going crazy. Everything they did was done in the name to get their very own and much desired cutie mark.

Something that some couldn't stand out anymore. Others still found it along the lines of cute and whimsical. The only exception being that those ponies hadn't seen the sheer destruction that they could make to a certain place, if they were given more than enough time.

It was at first dawn that Sweetie Belle woke up from her slumber again. She slowly started upon her daily routine of doing everything she needed. The levels of silence were pretty unheard from the house. Both of her parents still laid fast asleep in their beds. The last thing the little, white coated, pinkish maned unicorn wanted to do, was to wake them up from too much noise.

After a few minutes of being busy in the bathroom, had the filly returned to her own room with looks that made her recognizable in an instant. The style of mane and tail hadn't changed in pretty much years. Her own style she had adopted pretty much like most ponies in the town. Though it would be then that she made the realization that there were still things she needed to be doing.

Things that were of a major importance and they had been gathered the night before. The young filly dove under her bed for a moment. She crawled back out of it with something locked in her teeth. Something that appeared like a canvas sheet with stuff inside of it. Whatever it was, it didn't appear to be heavy in weight for the little filly as she simply yanked it from under the bed.

A gentle spit was given and the fabrics were released from her mouth and the tongue was being stuck out. The taste was something that was up for debate. Sweetie shook her head a little bit before she looked at the canvas sheet again and released a gentle ‘hmm’. Thought rambled through her mind as her eyes suddenly started to look upward, almost as if she wanted to see her own horn in one way or the other.

“Should I try it without Twilight being around here?” Sweetie whispered to herself. Her eyes lowered themselves a bit back down, towards the canvas. It was an honest question to be asked to herself but being one of Twilight’s occasional magical students also brought quite the bit of havoc with it. The filly released a deep sigh as she had not a clue of what she would be doing.

~~~~

In the meantime and pretty much across town, on the lands of Sweet Apple Acres was the red maned, yellow coated filly also more than ready to hit the day. She had done her daily routine and she was walking through the living area of the home. Her eyes glanced at the gear and equipment she had with her. Everything was checked one more time before the filly gave a nod to herself.

Then it was time for adventure. The time would be there to do the thing they had been discussing with one another for such a long time by then. There was only massive exception that made certain that the entire operation was concealed in utter mystery. Neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle seemed to know just where on earth they would be going.

They could be hiking to the Frozen North for all they knew. A gamble that was made thanks to the gear that they had packed with them. It seemed just a bit strange to the two of them to carry as much as they had packed. Either way, the two seemed to trust Scootaloo for knowing where they would be heading. One last check up on everything would be made by the filly. Then the saddlebags were placed around and strapped against her body. Two rather large bags hung off of either side of her body. She seemed to be more than ready to hit the road straight into the unknown.

In silence did the filly leave the house as the early morning sun was still rising on the horizon. The grandmother of them all was still deeply asleep in her room. With Applejack having taken away to Canterlot after she wouldn't wake up from her sleep, it was up to her older brother to take care of the entire apple business. A job that was perhaps a little bit more than he could chew.

A thing which was mostly due to the simple fact that the stallion was a quiet and humble giant. His posture intimidated ponies who would be walking by him, his strength was almost unmatched by any other stallion in the land. He was still a force to be reckoned with for certain. Apple Bloom saw her big brother working on the lands as he always had done, hard and honest.

Though the times were a little bit different. Each of the family members also had suffered a bit from the nightmares themselves. Only they did wake up every morning, but would be haunted by them every single night. They weren't as intense as the ones the elements received. But more than enough to make them sleepy on the job itself. Perhaps the very plan of the pony that caused them.

Either way, with a small yawn from her mouth had Apple Bloom walked past the fence of the Acres. Her eyes looked over the main road. All in order and hope to see the filly she was waiting on. The time of meeting was almost there and being late on that day, they couldn't allow themselves.

Apple Bloom herself was in luck as on the horizon could she see it quite clearly. The very shadow of another filly who appeared to have been in a rush. The red maned filly narrowed her eyes to make sure that she saw everything correct. The mane just waved in the wind and the little flutter of the wings while jumps were made in the air, all pointed out to one filly and one filly alone.

“Why hello there, Scoots. Had a good night’s rest?” Apple Bloom brought forth. The mysterious filly had come closer to her in the meantime. Eventually she revealed herself as an orange coated, purple maned, pegasus filly.

“Depends on your definition of ‘good’ really, had nightmares again. They have been getting the best of me for two weeks now... How do you live with them?!” Scootaloo returned to her friend. The two walked down the road in order to pick up the last member of the group.

They wandered past the land of the Acres and the trees that were planted on the other side while Apple Bloom sunk herself into thought. “Ah’ll admit that those nightmares do get the best of me. But y’all have to know that they remain just dreams. Just taking a few naps during the day itself, might help you out a lot more then you could possible think,” she explained to the other filly.

Those words were something that caused Scootaloo to huff a little bit at first. Then did her mind began to think about the words as they were. In the end did the little cowgirl happen have a point, even though she didn't wanted to admit it herself. The silence they had entered was one that was uncomfortable to say the least. A silence like that between friends was never a good sign.

In order to break that same silence did Apple Bloom ask the question that was bothering on her mind for days. “Hey Scoots, where are we going to anyway? Ah mean, it’s an awful lot of gear we have alone,” Apple Bloom asked with a genuine curiosity.

In response had the pegasus released a gentle chuckle. She knew exactly where they would be going towards. Yet the tone of the chuckle was a thing that got Apple Bloom already worried. Something just didn't add up to it all and she was getting her suspicion there and then. Almost as if she had regretted asking the question immediately, Apple Bloom looked the other way quickly.

Her eyes caught the scenery for a couple of seconds before they focused back over to the pegasus. Her curiosity was something that always called for adventure, wanting to know the unknown. At the moment she wanted to know the unknown more then she wanted just about anything else. “Well? Where are we going?” she said. She pushed Scootaloo a bit with her words.

Scootaloo turned her head over to the red maned filly and gave her an unsettling grin at first. A grin that caused a small shiver to travel down the spine of Apple Bloom. One that made her regret her question almost in an instant. “You really want to know?” Scootaloo asked her with that same grin still upon her lips. It was only then that Apple Bloom had begun to gulp a little bit. She didn't had a single clue about it all. One part of her wanted to know it, while the other just wanted to make a return to the house of the family and snuggle up in her bed.

In the end did she gave a nod to the question that was asked. All that was left to be coming, was the answer to the question but whether or not she would be happy about it, was another question. “Oh Bloomy, I have been planning this trip for weeks now and it’s finally happening. There were we are heading is the place where it all seemed to have started. We’re going to it. White, Tails, Woods,” was the answer that Scootaloo gave to her.

That name alone caused Apple Bloom to stand still, dead in her tracks. Out of every possible location that they could have been going, they had to go to that horrid place. She knew the rumors of those woods, she had heard the stories about the dreaded fog that roamed around there. “Are ya crazy?!” she spoke up with a raised voice. One that was loud enough for everypony to hear.

Though the words were never returned to her. Scootaloo just continued to walk to the house of Sweetie Belle. The pegasus had pretended to be deaf for the words.

~~~~

It was a house where the events were a bit less than pleasant then they usually were. When the two fillies arrived and the location of their trek was revealed, Sweetie’s coat became even more white than it normally was. It almost seemed as if she had seen a living ghost in the eyes of the two of them. It scared her to even think about the location they would be going to. It took both enough talking of both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to get her in. To get Sweetie Belle Crazy enough to join them both on the trek of perhaps a lifetime, or one that would be ending it.

There was a little tiny reason of just why Apple Bloom also started to bribe against Sweeti. She had tried to persuade her over to join the two. The earth pony filly had owed the pegasus a trip to the woods of White Tails. After having bailed out on the first time, a time that it wasn't even filled with the stuff of nightmares had never left the mind of Scootaloo and considered what they would be doing payback for it.

A sickening payback was it in the eyes of other, perhaps. Though neither three of them were truly aware of just the terror that was housed in those dreaded woods. They didn't saw the danger it would be having for them all. In the end had even Sweetie Belle agreed on coming along for the ride. Whether she would be liking it or not.

So with the sun still in the early hours, they had begun to walk down the ponymade path again in order to reach the woods of White Tails. The very woods where a debt would be settled and the camp set up for a night under the starry skies. …If they were in luck that was.

~~~~

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all wore their twin saddlebags packed with equipment and other things they would need in order to have a successful. Perhaps to even have a cozy night out in the fields before the woods. The three of them heard about the rumors that did their turn about the forest, otherwise it didn't made Apple Bloom so scared when she heard they were going there. Same thing had happened to Sweetie. The little unicorn was literally trembling upon all four of her legs when she heard it.

The look of genuine fright was the very thing that had filled her eyes back then. Though when they were walking through the land, the songs did their turn. Everything just appeared to be like the mood of a school camp. A school camp that would most likely be going to the inner depths of Tartarus for all they knew but they lived in the there and then while not looking to the future itself. Their little minds even seemed to have been twisting the horrors that they would be facing. They would have turned them into a sort of little game they would be thinking about. A little challenge of who could be in those woods for the longest of time.

All of those rather idiotic things were being discussed under so laughter and singing of the three of them. Completely unaware of the terrors that laid inside of the fog. Yet they didn't care as they seemed to be having quite the good day in and of itself already. For their wanders lead them off the beaten path, causing them to on the more tourist route and thus see sights that were truly marvelous to witness.

In the end did it lay there. It had come right in their field of views. The dreaded woods of White Tails came into their eyes. The three knew right away just why the woods were called that way. It was because of the fog that darted around in the formation of tails that waved in the wind. For a moment did everything look so magical, musical even. Everything just eyed so perfect at the moment. All of it was quiet though. No birds, no rustled from the vegetation, just the wind that blew softly past their little ears. A wind that didn’t carry anything with it that time.

None of the fillies could believe the fact that something as wonderful as those woods, could be housing such a dark and dreaded secret. “Hey,” Scootaloo said while she nudged Apple Bloom. “You think they all made it up, just to keep fillies and colts away so they can have all of the beauty for themselves?”

The comment was something that made the other two giggle to themselves for a bit. The saddlebags were removed from their backs and the camp side would be made up. Each of the fillies helped one another with setting up the tent and basically transforming the land before the forest into a comfortable, leisurely site. A small campfire pit had been made before some logs and stones were rolled in that acted as fire stoppers and a sofa, not to mention the wood for the fire itself.

The best thing of it all had to be the fact that they were genuinely existed about it all. Everything was built up in less than two hours. A thing which caused the sun to be standing on the status of the high noon. Not that it meant much to the three of them though. They still had plenty of time to make a trip through the fog of White Tails and see what the fuzz was about.

Though from time to time was it Sweetie who stared into the seeming endless fog of the woods.She just felt that unsettling feeling in her stomach. A feeling that made her just a bit sick or nauseous. Though she never showed it to the other two. Instead she tried to hide it from them by saying some words. “Is it okay with you two if I stay here, guarding the camp and all?” she said.

It seemed like a weak excuse and she had to admit it herself that it actually was one, but it was needed that at least one of them was there in the camp to make sure nopony else would be getting there. Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at her with a tilted head and confused expression before they finally understood what she meant.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Fine by me.”

It was a weight off of the filly’s chest when she heard those words. She absolutely didn't wanted to enter those woods that were supposedly haunted to the core. It would have been the other two fillies that were going to enter the forest. They talked about the wonders they could be finding if they looked hard enough. Yet it was the little unicorn who dove back in the tent and began to search for a couple of items.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked a bit strange at her once again. They had not a clue of what she was doing though. Seconds later had the filly popped back out of the tent. She carried two magical flashlights, two compasses and two maps with her. Both of the other two fillies were given one of everything. Sweetie then looked proud to her friends. “Mark the position we are on, on the map and know the direction you need to walk into from your compass. If either of you two gets lost, you know how to walk back, right?” she said to the two of them with a confident tone.

“Uhm, Sweets...” Scootaloo started first. She looked at the items at first but then turned her head back up over to the filly. “You certain this is all needed? I mean, we can just go with the rope I brought along, right?”

“And what if a creature cuts it?” Sweetie then replied. That was the reply that caused Apple Bloom to chuckle to herself. It was the very same one that got Scootaloo cornered. With a small huff and grumble of acceptance had the two fillies glanced better at their compasses. They would have marked the location of the campsite on the map just in case.

“This should be about it, the mountain’s over there, the lake is in that direction, meaning we are right here. Now just hope we don’t end up at the opposing side of the forest if we have to run,” said Scootaloo after she had marked the site on her map.

“There’s where the compasses come in, chicken.” Apple Bloom replied with a chuckle. “East by southeast, Ah would say.” And with that were the two fillies ready to hit the road and go into the woods of White Tails when they desired and were ready.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would finally have moved over to the edge of the fog covered woods of White Tails. The both of them looked at one another with the same expression upon their faces. They knew they were ready for anything and everything. Yet the thing that they didn't knew, was when they were going to be back and what they would be encountering in those very woods. It could have been everything, but it never scared them away.

With a deep exhale that was made by both of the fillies, they nodded to one another. They started to walk over the edge of the woods. They went straight into the terrain of the nightmarish unicorn. Sweetie was the only one who remained at the campsite and waved the two of them goodbye before the fillies were reduced to nothing more but black shadows. Until they were just gone, gone in the thick fog of the woods that seemed to have consumed them whole.

~~~~

With the two of them gone and literally out of her sight, Sweetie Belle could only hope that the two of them wouldn't be working themselves into the troubles they were known for. Either way, whether they would or wouldn't, continue to stare at the fog wasn't going to help her in any way of the word.

Thus the little, white unicorn did the only thing she could be doing at the moment. Which was to tidy the place up a bit before they would return. Songs were hummed to herself as the tail was used like a broom. It was a little something that worked like a charm. Even though caused a lot of the filth to be left inside of the hairs in her tail. Not that it mattered all too much to her though.

Pretty close to the campsite, there was a small stream running. Sweetie could wash herself if she wanted. Everything just seemed to be so peaceful and serene out there. Nothing even as much as indicated upon the fact that the horrors they had heard, could have been playing themselves right in the woods behind her. The young Sweetie Belle just couldn't understand it for one bit.

Though it was that mindset that caused the time to actually fly by a lot faster than she originally could have hoped and thought. For the minutes turned themselves over into an hour before she was finally done with her given assignment.

The deep green rimmed eyes looked over the site with a big smile below her muzzle. Everything just looked like her sister would have ever wanted it. All of it was just so clean and tidy, Sweetie had done a very good job according to herself. That was with the little exception of her tail of course. All of the hairs were just filled with the filth of what she had been trying to get out.

The only thing that the little unicorn could have done, was to wash her tail off into the little stream. Which was the thing that she would be doing. Her little legs carried themselves over to the place where she looked at the current and gave a small nod to herself.

In her mind had she expected that the currents were strong enough to weave themselves through the hairs of her tail. Thus it would loosen up every strand of hair. After which it would wash away everything that shouldn't belong in the hairs before it was carried away.

The tail would have been lowered into the waters. The body of Sweetie Belle was aimed towards the woods themselves. Her eyes continued to look at the fog while it danced before them. She appeared to almost be enchanted by the motions that it made by the wind. Something that caused a secondary feeling to actually arise from deep in her body.

Sweetie had started to look into the fog and noticed these small little electronic currents going through it. Currents that were blue of coloring, a blue that she seemed to be knowing a little bit too well perhaps. In her head was the connection almost immediately made as a pounding could be heard in her ears. A pounding that wasn't of hooves against the ground.

No, the pounding that she heard was in fact two smaller pounds. Pounds that were beating at nearly the same time. Almost, almost like that of a heartbeat. Sweetie Belle just couldn't believe it when she figured it out. She thought to be hearing a heartbeat while she gazed upon the fog.

Though the oddest part of it all, had to be that she placed that heartbeat by somepony she knew. Somepony whose very own heartbeat she knew perhaps a whole lot better than anypony that lived in the face of the lands. “R-Rarity?!” Sweetie Belle stumbled out before her eyes closed themselves in the confusion. The whole situation was almost becoming too much for her to handle.

She couldn't believe the events as they were presented to her. The heartbeat of her lost sister could be heard in her ears. It seemed to have come from the woods themselves, hidden within the fog that covered it. “W-What’s going on he- Outch!”

Before the little unicorn could have done anything else, she was taken out of her trance. Something had taken a hold of her tail and yanked it deeper underwater. In response had the filly jumped into the air and away from the stream. With a comical landing she plopped back in the grass on her belly and behind her she could hear the desperate flopping of a fish on the dry land.

The filly turned herself around in order to see just what it happened to be and looked at it. Without any hesitation, her eyes became as wide as they possible could have ever been and she rushed back over to the fish on the dry land. One of the stream’s many inhabitants must have mistaken her tail for something that was food. “Oh, I’m sorry, sorry, sorry,” Sweetie spoke up against the fish. She took it on both of her hooves and threw it back into the stream.

With the fish back in the water and her mind having forgotten why she was looking to the woods, Sweetie shrugged a little bit. She would have returned to the campsite and sat down on one of the logs with a comic she had packed. It at least kept her occupied a lot better than having to clean up all the time.

~~~~

In the meantime and deeply tucked away in the woods had both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo remained close to one another. They wanted to make certain that they wouldn't get lost. The both of them had seen the transition from the trees being nice brown with green to black and pointy. It was a change that neither of them truly liked or actually was waiting on to behold. Though the two of them were always competitive and neither wanted to bail out because they were too scared.

If they only knew they shouldn't have been writing checks they couldn't cash. The forest had become known to break ponies their spirits in one way or the other. The currents that Sweetie noticed going through the fog, happened to be the magic of the unicorn that became visible for a few seconds. Magic that was going to mess and toy with the other two fillies.

“Ah think we've been around this tree before already, Scoots,” Apple Bloom spoke out when they walked past a deformed tree. A deformed tree from which the earth pony knew almost certain they had gone by once, if not multiple times. “How far in do ya wanna go in anyway?”

“As far as it is needed and no, we haven’t gone by this tree already, it’s different, you see?” the pegasus pointed out to the branches.

“Only ‘cause we’re at the other side. Ah’m telling ya, we have gone by this one before!” Apple Bloom returned in a confident tone. Something which caused Scootaloo to sigh in a truly annoyed tone. “Well if ya are so certain, where are we heading then? Take yar compass, would yah.”

“Hey! You got one yourself remember, you take yours out,” the little pegasus returned with a growl. The two came to a stop near the tree. Apple Bloom returned the huff just as loud to Scootaloo. She searched in her saddlebag for the thing. A few seconds later she had found it and brought it to the middle of them. Yet the very sight they would be seeing, was everything but pretty.

The eyes of both of the fillies went as wide as they could possible become. They both looked at the needle of the thing and neither of them wanted to even believe the things they saw. However, that what they saw was the complete and utter truth on the matter. “Impossible…” Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom in a tone of genuine fear.

“Y-Ya said it,” the red maned filly replied before she gave a deep gulp.

For in the compass itself were the needles that supposed to be aiming towards the north and the south, didn't exactly do that anymore. Instead went the needle literally all over the place as if the entire magnetic field kept on changing with each possible second. It was something that frightened both of the fillies already, but they still could remember the fact, they had two of the things.

“T-Take yours out, n-now,” Apple Bloom begged the pegasus. There was still hope that one of the compasses had gone over to tilt and with just that little bit of the ever so much needed luck, they could be having one working compass.

Scootaloo gave a nod to the filly. She then searched in her own saddlebag for the thing and carefully took it out. With her hoof coiled up over the glass, it was impossible to judge whether or not it was spinning like mad already. The both of them released a gulp and exchanged some worried expression to one another before Scootaloo closed her eyes, and revealed the glass.

“Oh no,” was the only thing that Apple Bloom had to say about the matter. Those words alone caused Scootaloo to lose all of the remaining hope that they still had. Ever so carefully did she open up her eyes and looked over to the compass of her own. Once again, did the needle turn and twist all over the place.

“H-Hey Apple Bloom, w-what if we place the both of them on the ground, m-maybe we are charged with static, you know?” the pegasus brought forth. She really didn’t had a clue of what she was talking about, but it seemed to be working quite the bit though. The logic behind it was something that could be considered good.

The earth pony filly gave a nod in response before they both placed their compasses upon the ground and closed their eyes for a couple of seconds. Each of them whispered their prayers for their very lives as they could only do that in the moment.

Slowly did their eyes both open up again and they both looked at the same sight. A sight that was about to shatter all their believes and dreams literally on the spot. For in their eyes they caught the compasses still turning like mad. They never seemed to be stopping whatsoever. Whether it was caused by their hooves or the ground, they just kept on going like it was nothing.

That was the fact that indulged just so much fear into both of the fillies. They first looked at one another with a terrified stare. Only to be followed with one that was looking straight into the fog. Another big mistake that they made.

~~~~

In that very same fog they began to see the shimmers of the reality they absolutely didn't wanted to do down into. The shimmers of their worst fears were coming to live and walking through the shadows of the trees. Though neither of the fillies even had the ability left to scream or to even talk to the other. All they could be doing, was to look at one another with that begging gave of getting out of there as soon as possible. Which was exactly the thing they did.

The two of them picked up their compasses again and then just went off. Off into the direction to which they thought that their camp would be. Whether they were right on the matter or not, didn't matter to them. They just wanted to get the hell out of that horrid place. Especially since the shimmers were appearing to chase them down. Shimmers that took a more recognizable shape each time they dared to be looking at their backs.

Apple Bloom noticed how the blob of shadow became her own beloved sister but with a few mental defective twists to her. In her mouth did she held a blood covered knife. The eyes were just ready to kill the youngest family member in cold blood. No doubt that in the filly’s mind the chance existed that Applejack had murdered her bigger bother and grandmother already. It was a sight that caused her to finally scream on the top of her lungs and gave even more gas into her hooves.

It was something that caused Scootaloo to raise an eyebrow before she called out. “Hey! W-Wait for me!” she shouted out before her eyes also made the massive mistake to look back. Her own blob turned itself into Rainbow Dash. Though that Rainbow Dash –much like Applejack– also seemed to be able and ready to kill. There were a few changes. The particular Rainbow looked no longer like a pegasus at all. Instead she was looking like a creature Scootaloo had only dreamed about in her nightmares. Rainbow Dash had turned into a lycan. A werepony ready to kill and consume her.

Another scream filled the air of White Tails. One that was created by the orange coated pegasus, who emptied all the air from her lungs. With it, was she just off. She gained an even faster speed in her gallop and the both of them were genuinely scared for their lives. They had two homicidal ponies at their tails who were ready to end their little lives literally in a moment’s notice.

The two of them set everything on everything to make sure that they would be getting out of there both alive and well. Perhaps just escaping the woods themselves wasn't the only part that was needed to escape them. “S-So that’s where they have been! They have been hiding in here, waiting for ponies like us!” Scootaloo managed to speak during their gallop. Apple Bloom found it terrifying that her big sister could even as much as give her such looks. Though the more she thought about it, the more it did make sense in some manner.

Two whole weeks asleep just didn't cover it for her. “Scoot, no offence, but shut up and Ah hope yar wrong on it!” Apple Bloom replied to her. They kept on galloping through the vegetation of White Tails. Neither of them even dared to witness just how far behind the mares would have been. In their ears did they hear the panting of the mentally insane ponies. The chase wasn't over yet. It probably wouldn't for a long time to come.

~~~~

In the time that all of the events unfolded themselves in the woods, Sweetie Belle had continued to be reading through her Power Ponies comics. She chuckled a couple times at the adventures that were drawn out on the paper. It seemed to be a useful waste of time for her. The adventures that those ponies had, seemed to be like they were living their lives at the fullest.

Though the more calming she thought everything was going to get, the more she could hear the hoofsteps of something coming closer towards the camp. The filly placed the comic aside and she just rose an eyebrow in a response. Her ears tried to determine just where they came from. In the end had she turned herself over to the woods once more.

There was the innocent yet questioning gaze that fell in her eyes. She didn't truly understood the matter of the thing that was going on. Everything just became odd to her. “What’s going on there?” she asked to herself before the two well-known screams entered her ears. “Oh no…”

Before she even knew it, had both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo came out of the woods with a gallop. They were both terrified and as pale as a deceased body. Neither of them even noticed the little unicorn in the moment. They just continued to gallop further away from the woods. That was until they encountered the stream of water.

The both of them just dropped themselves accidentally into it. Sweetie Belle couldn't help it but to laugh to herself at the sight that played itself out before her. They ran around like chickens without a head in her own eyes. But she didn't dare to make the comment to either of them.

The little unicorn also made her way over to the small stream in which the other two fillies sat. She took notice of how they both shivered for their lives. “So, I take it that it wasn't such of a big success of going in there?” she spoke up in a genuinely interested tone. That was just before the question of questions was asked to them. “What got you two so spooked?”

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked to their friend with a gaze as if they could be strangling her on the spot while the water dripped out of their mane. “T-Trust me, you d-don’t wanna know,” the pegasus brought forth before she crawled out of the stream and offered a helping hoof to the cowgirl.

“S-Sweetie, we’re going home. B-Believe us, it’s better if we ain't coming back here,” Apple Bloom replied after she was hoisted out of the waters and shook her head a couple of times. “Ya, ya don’t wanna know, w-what we saw.”

The words were something that the little unicorn understood all too well, and if the both of them said they didn't wanted to talk about it and go, something terrible had happened inside of those woods.

For the rest of the day would the fillies be packing their gear and walking back home to the safety that they were used to. Not to mention, the love of their families. The experiences were kept to themselves though. They didn't wanted to scare any adults more than they already had been doing. Perhaps a wise decision, but fillies would always remain fillies.

18 Investigations get one somewhere

The sun was already lowering while the three crusaders managed to walk back into Ponyville. None of them were happier to see the buildings arise over the hill they were trotting upon. They could finally let the horrors of the woods as both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom saw them right back behind them. Whereas Sweetie could forget that mysterious feelings. But if it only was actually that simple. For even though they could be forgetting it, their minds would never delete the memories.

“Hey girls,” Scootaloo spoke up as the three of them stood on top of the hill and admired the little town engulfing itself into the sunset. “I’m going back to the clubhouse for a little bit to set a few things straight. Catch you two tomorrow again!” With those words had the orange filly just darted away like nothing happened. Though the fears of seeing that savaged Rainbow Dash right behind her was something that she never would have forgotten. It was her fuel for the nightmares to come.

“Where did she ran off to?” Sweetie asked to the little earth pony who gave a shrug in response. It became apparent that she didn't wanted to talk about it and it seemed to be better that they wouldn't be doing just that. “Hey, you mind if I walk a bit with you? The roads to the Acres and my home are pretty much the same.”

To that did Apple Bloom turn her head over to Sweetie and gave off a small nod. “Yeah, I don’t see a problem in that really. Let’s go,” she spoke before she began to trot once again.

“Hey! Wait for me!” the young unicorn yelped out. She had lost herself in the sights for a moment or two. A moment or two that cost her a bit of time to catch up with her friend. Together would they be walking back to their homes. Only to separate at one particular point.

When the two fillies did eventually separate their ways, Apple Bloom went straight back to Sweet Apple Acres to be held in the hold of her family. Even though she never would tell them just what she saw within the realm of the cursed forest. She didn't wanted to make them scared for their lives, especially her grandmother given the age she was. Not to mention there was the fact that the rumors seemed to be true as it showed one's worst fears and dreams.

That alone was more than enough for Apple Bloom to realize that it wasn't really there. Nonetheless, when she laid in the bed later that evening did the shivers went down her spine as the images returned to her in their fullest of glories. It would become a night in which she would be getting little to no sleep. All because of a stupid bet or promise with the pegasus. “Ah hope you’ll pay for it as well, Scoots,” the filly grumbled under her breath. She looked up and towards the skies. She thought to have seen a figure that had appeared on the moon itself.

“What in the hay’s name’s that all ‘bout?!” she spoke aloud. Her eyes then blinked a couple of times. When she then wanted to see if the thing was still there, it was just gone. It had vanished like the wind itself had carried it away. “Am Ah going crazy here?” she questioned herself aloud. A hoof was brought to her head before she left the bed. The red maned filly made her way over to the window. She began to stare even deeper towards the moon. Something about it caused her to be even more frightened than that she already was. “Don’t tell me she’s coming back, again…”

On that same evening had Sweetie Belle entered her home once more as well. She was almost right away greeted by both of her parents. Who were surprised by the fact that she was back that soon already. The filly explained the trip and what happened to them but left certain things out as she didn't wanted to scare her parents with all the information. Not to mention that not even she knew just where the two had been running from.

The family had their dinner together before Sweetie went back up to her room and unpacked all of the things with a sigh. Sweetie had hoped for a calm night under the starry skies, but that didn't seem to be happening anymore. When everything was finally unpacked and stored in placed either temporarily or permanently, the filly had laid down on her bed. Her eyes looked out of the window as well for some reason. Something about the whole thing continued to bug her like nothing before.

That very moment that she could hear her sister’s heartbeat in the forest had to mean something, if not everything. It chewed and chewed upon her mind and wouldn't let itself go no matter what. At a certain point she even considered to have gone crazy because of all the rumors of the forest. But if she heard the heartbeat, did that mean that her biggest fear was actually Rarity?

Questions like that filled the mind of Sweetie Belle more than anything and it caused the gears of her head to be getting stuck perhaps more than once and a while. “It can’t be, it just, it just can’t be possible,” she whispered to herself before another growl left her mouth. At that point in time, she seemed to be a lot like her sister when she didn't understood something. A rather comical sight some could have called it but her brain had gone itself into overdrive.

That was until a loud and massive yawn left the mouth of the filly. Time and time again had she been thinking about it all. It was a thing that had worn her out more than anything else that entire day. “Maybe some sleep will do me good, put it to rest, maybe,” were the last words to be mumbled by her. The young unicorn crawled back into the bed. She covered herself into the blankets and snuggled up with her plushie. The wish to had become greater than the need for knowledge.

The green rimmed eyes closed themselves off from the world. Before she even know it, had she departed to the realms of the dreams. All in the hope to wake up better the next morning.

~~~~

With the moon high in the skies, it was deemed to be time to set the crime. Princess Luna had been standing before the abandoned Carousel Boutique for what seemed to be like hours. Ponies often approached her, but when they discovered she seemed to be like this massive statue that not even they could interrupt, they simply let her be again. While the lights of the moon were being cast upon both the alicorn and the building, the time for answers to be discovered had fallen upon her.

“Sister, may you see through the crimes I’m about to commit for the sake of our land,” spoke Luna to herself. Then her hooves finally came into motion once again. She wanted to have answers about whether or not it was actually Rarity. If Rarity was the one who had caused all of their misery in the past few weeks, if not months. In the back of her head did she knew it was Rarity. But the evidence that the sisters had was silenced before all. They needed to come with other bits to prove their statements. They needed full on proof before any accusation would fall.

The horn of the alicorn charged itself up into the cobalt blue aura. She came closer to the door. With a flick of it was the lock opened on itself without a problem. Then the door itself opened like a breeze. Luna was granted access into the darkened estate of the fashionista. Only forces higher than herself could protect her from what she would be encountering in there.

Celestia always had to be the one for talking and not much action, while Luna was the exact opposing side of that. She loved to investigate and get into the troubles to find the answers. Even if it meant that there were higher prices to be paid then she originally had wanted. Not something that was a particular bad thing in her eyes though. It meant that she knew pretty much exactly just what was going on in the lands they both ruled over.

“I sincerely hope, that it isn't you who can be blamed for all of this,” Luna whispered to herself as she walked into the darkness of the building and closed the door gently behind her. The only light that was actually visible was that of her horn. The eyes started to go over the main shop area to see if there already was anything that seemed to be unusual.

The troubles that she had caused as her own nightmare persona were still lingering fresh in her mind as she had a thousand years to actually think about them, they might not have been the cause. For the thought of something far more gruesome had come to mind and it caused the lunar princess herself to actually shudder on the spot.

If the force that had managed to transform Luna into Nightmare Moon, who was to say that that same force hadn't managed to take over Rarity as well? It was that thought that kept the mare in her grasp. A force that seemed to be friendly at first before it toppled its host into an endless pit of misery before it took a near direct control over the body. Luna could truly just pray that it wasn't the thing she feared most that had affected Rarity.

Luna did a step further inside was the exterior of the building being recalled by her and everything upon that seemed to be more than perfect. That was with the exception of some wear and tear for not being cleaned in such a long time. Outside of that did everything seemed to be more than perfect for the unicorn to just come straight back into it.

But while she was just ‘standing’ in front of the building, there was also another thing that she was doing. She heard the minds of every single pony that was coming in her nearby area and specifically listened whether or not they knew something about the boutique and the state it was in.

The things she got to hear were pretty much the most unbelievable things there were. Many knew that the owner of the place hadn't been seen in a long time. Even that the lights weren't on every night was something the caused them to awake some curiosity. Vanished like the wind, others told in their minds. Thoughts of the past were the words that had entered the mind of the lunar princess. Who continued to just look around the building from her position. “And yet, you disappeared just like that, my subject. Who or what could have been able to do such a thing without leaving any physical trace? That is of course, unless you happen to be right here and stand here invisible next to me but…” she brought out to the building, being the only one to hear it.

The silence took over while the horn of the mare increased itself in power before a blast was given off in the form of an orb that went through all of the walls. A massive overflow of light came out of all the windows of the boutique which caused some of the bystanders to actually tilt their head at it. Some couldn't believe the things they saw before they saw the gestalt of Luna herself. Then they knew pretty much instantly just what was actually going on and went on their way again.

“…That’s not what it is,” Luna grumbled before she took yet another step into the place. She dared to look further with her eyes. The things on the shelves, the mannequins and the dresses were covered in a layer of dust which meant that they hadn't been moved in a long time. “Not too much, but promising. Nopony has been here to move things around or to actually clean. This is becoming better and better.” The sarcastic words of the alicorn only caused herself to release a deep sigh through her nostrils before her head turned over to the back area of the shop.

Almost instinctively did she knew what she had to be done. With a thorough investigation she wouldn't leave a single room untouched. She would be going systematically through them all in the hope to discover anything of aid. Her hooves brought her over to the working area of the boutique. With the light of the horn did her eyes glance into every last possible corner while also going through the books of designs, administration and more personal documents of the unicorn.

The information that she received from them wasn't necessarily something that she could use. Therefor wouldn't it be stored in her mind. With a sigh had she turned herself around. Luna shone the light upon some of the unfinished dresses that the mannequins were wearing. “Seems like you really wanted to leave in a hurry, now didn't you? But why didn't you leave anything for us to trace. Not to mention, these designs are wonderful. You knew your trade very well Rarity, I must admit that to you,” the lunar princess whispered to herself. It didn’t took long before she continued to the second room on the bottom floor.

It was the room which happened to be nothing else then the main shopping area where the investigation continued. Not a single corner was left untouched and all of the items on both display and behind the counter were lifted up just ever so slightly to see what could possibly be hidden beneath them. Though once again she was just out of her luck. None of the items cast another light upon the case. Much to Luna’s personal annoyance.

~~~~

The living room was the thing that was next and her eyes swept themselves over every last inch but once more without luck to be had. Every last bit couldn't help her with anything she was looking for. Everything in the room seemed to be just so normal. It was almost starting to scare the alicorn. “You aren't going to tell me, that you just left out of free will here, now are you, lady Rarity?” Luna whispered again to herself. She sat down on the sofa for a bit to crawl into the mindset of Rarity.

Both of her eyebrows rose themselves up when the realization of just how comfortable the thing was. It made her mind come to another point and she released a small chuckle to herself. “Now I understand why you carried that thing with you those times. Really comfortable indeed.” It was a much needed relief to the cracking of the enigma that she had gotten herself into without a single doubt. A couple little bounces were made on the thing before the alicorn rose up once again. There was one last place where she needed to be looking on the ground floor and that was the kitchen. Out of all the places that the entire building had to offer to her, she thought that in the kitchen there would be something that could be helping her in her aid.

With a couple of careful and gentle steps did she pass through the archway that would lead her over to the place. The alicorn had another glance at everything that was there to be seen. Every last detail she tried to take up into herself. But as with the whole lower floor of the boutique, there was just nothing that seemed to be out of the ordinary for her nor was there anything that she could be using to strengthen the case. It almost seemed to be like she had reached a dead end.

Another grumble left her throat as the head hung itself lower to the ground and the eyes closed themselves a little bit. “It’s hopeless, Luna, she disappeared with the northern sun, vanished from the face of the land literally without a single trace to be discovered. But that can’t be done right? Just leaving like that? What in the name of Equestria happened to you lady Rarity, what caused you to make such a departure from the land that you have always known and loved?”

It was yet another ramble that left through the mouth of the mare. She couldn't stand it for one bit. Everything was turning itself inside out as some sort of paranoia about having forgotten something in one of the earlier rooms was in already. It gnawed at her. Though she still had the top floor of the building to look through. It wasn't something that she preferred doing at all. It meant that she had had to go through the really private stuff of her subjects, with all the nasty surprises.

Though it was different that time, a lot different in fact. It felt like Luna had to do it in order to make certain that she had every last detail of everything. Somepony had to do the dirty jobs and in the case, it happened to be nopony else then Luna herself. A confident nod was given to herself. The mare would have walked up the stairs to the second floor of the building. But little did she knew, just what leads she would be discovering there.

~~~~

On the hallway of the second floor had the alicorn a look over each of the doors. She managed to identify just which happened to be which with ease. Though if she wanted to find the evidence that she needed in order to find Rarity, it meant that not a single room had to be left untouched. Even if it meant that she had to go through the attic above her. A place not even she was fond of. “Please, please, please let me find something here that I can use so I don’t have to go up there,” she whispered to herself. Her hooves would have carried her over to the room of Sweetie Belle.

The door of the room was opened and the light of Luna’s horn shone itself in with the lunar might. The eyes of the alicorn began to scan through the room while she walked further inwards. At first glance did everything seem to be just nice and tidy, the mare would have wanted it. On second glance had the trouble that the little sister could cause become visible like a sore thumb. Though it wasn't the something that she happened to be looking for. In contrary in fact, even the bedroom of Sweetie Belle seemed to be nothing but normal before the eyes of the princess.

Luna was getting more and more annoyed. There was nothing that she could find to help her. In both the bathroom and the remaining guestroom there wasn't much luck either. It was something that almost seemed to be driving her over the edge of insanity and back again. Mumbles, growls and groans all left her when the guest bedroom door was closed and the eyes focused themselves upon the final two remaining doors. The one of the inspiration room while the other was the master bedroom. “Pray that you find something in one of those, Luna,” the mare whispered to herself again. She closed the distance between herself and the inspiration room of Rarity herself.

Her hoof was set upon the doorknob and gently turned it around until she heard that signature click of it having opened. Which was much to her relief. The alicorn had stepped into it with care. She then looked at the sights that were there to behold.

Within her blue rimmed eyes, Luna got to see the things worth of a lifetime. It was basically looking like the working area downstairs, but with a whole lot more mass to it. “This is, unbelievable,” Luna spoke up in a genuinely impressed whisper. She even had to shake her head again and realized just why she was there. Once more was the investigation continued by her. The light of the horn shone itself into all the possible corners and hole where there could be something hidden, but without much luck.

The alicorn of the night was disappointed by the fact she still hadn't discovered one bit of information. Her head turned itself over towards the massive walk-in closet that seemed to be connecting both the room she was in, as well as the master bedroom. “Last shot for it, Luna, make it actually count this time.” With those words did the alicorn open the door of the closet and once again she was stunned by just how much things the unicorn had in her possession.

Dresses, suits, outfits for recreation, hats, glasses, all of them could be found within the realm of it. It was truly something that she never ever could have expected to be witnessing. “My goodness, how much… how much things you have in here?! And, all of it made by your hooves as well? I don’t believe that for a second,” Luna brought out a bit louder. S wandered a bit through the closet to the other door. One that led over to the bedroom of the unicorn herself.

With her hoof had she opened the door. Then she was given the glance of the bedroom that nopony had seen for their own eyes. All rooms in the building were open for public, but the master bedroom was something kept dearly private. The scents of the unicorn herself entered the nostrils of the alicorn right away. It wasn't a scent that she was truly happy with. It was an old one, one that spoke to her that she hadn't returned in such a long time already.

“This is it… The final stretch,” said Luna said before she stepped further into the room. She would have given her eyes the time to gaze through it.

The sweep that she made from right to left, caused her to witness the windowsills as one of the last things. Though it was at one of them that her eyebrows rose upwards. What she sees in her eyes was something that she never even could have held possible to be true. In her eyes she caught a letter written by somepony for somepony else. Next to it was a book that seemed to be vaguely hinting towards the diary of the unicorn herself.

There suddenly was this massive feeling of just over-enjoyment in the body of the alicorn. Finally would her lips have been able to crack a genuine smile. Both the letter and the book were being levitated from the sill. With a couple of happy steps had Luna made her way over to the bed. She sat down upon it with a gentle motion though. Finally had she discovered something that could be helping her in her quest of finding the things out. Little did she knew, just what she had found.

When her eyes first looked over the letter, it was the invitation of Emerald Masquerade to meet the ivory mare in the old castle, during the summer sun celebration. It was something in and of itself that caused questions to rise in the head of Luna. “Why does anypony want to meet up there when such an event is happening? Perhaps a wedding proposal? Best done in the silence of commotion, but the setting of that old thing?” she mumbled up, theorizing the events.

Something about the letter just didn't add it to the alicorn and no matter how many time she continued to read over it, sense was about the last thing she got out of it. “Vague, complete and utter vague I would call this,” the alicorn mumbled up. She shook her head as a response. “But I suppose she knows him better than that I do, I hope.” The last words were spoken in a tone of a rather genuine concern that came off from the mare. Who knew just who this figure happened to be in the first place? But she had at least one lead she could be following.

~~~~

Then it was time to commit perhaps the biggest crime done against the ivory coated unicorn thus far. Which was that she had to read through her personal diary. The blue rimmed eyes of Luna looked over to the book. Her hoof stroked the outside with a calm gesture. All the energy that it gave off was absorbed through that very hoof. The alicorn felt all of the possible and different emotions flowing through her. Emotions that were written straight into the pages of the book. There was not a single doubt any longer, it happened to be the diary of the ivory coated unicorn. The question remained whether or not she had the guts to actually read through it like that.

Though the matter wouldn't have been one of guts or do or dare. It was all about finding somepony who had been lost through time itself. One who had vanished from the records of history with the clap of a hoof. That thought caused the alicorn to take the book in both of her hooves and she began to look through it. Never she would be reading an entry until the date was above that of the element’s their victory over Nightmare Moon though. From that moment onward would Luna be reading all of the entries at her own pace.

Page after page was flipped over. The eyes read every last magical written word aloud in her mind. Some of them were pretty meaningless while other openly spoke about different views on each of her friends. Some were good while others were a little bit less friendly. There was one thing she picked up almost straight away. That was the fact that one word continued in almost every entry that was being made. One simple word that had a terrible meaning. One that almost frightened Luna.

And that word was nothing else but nightmares.

Without a warning given to her, the alicorn could almost hear the church bells ring in her head. All the connections had been made right in front of her eyes. Everything that she needed to be knowing was presented right in front of her. All of the knowledge, all of the leads, all of it was literally presented to her in just those two paper-made items. Luna would have jumped straight of the bed just like that. She held the book in her magic before she began to pace up and down into the room. Entry after entry was being read and seemed to cover the last six months of the unicorn her life.

Day after day had Rarity been living into the nightmares, but she never spoke to anypony about it. The nightmares would always have been the same: the fact that all of her beloved friends would be leaving her like nothing. It was something heartbreaking to read for Luna. But the more she read into it, the more she could hear the desperation scream for the nightmares to stop. “This, this is everything but good for us all,” Luna spoke to herself. She then came to the last entry. It was just the date of a day. A day that was actually the mark of the one thousandth first celebration.

“No, no, no, don’t tell me that you actually went towards the castle. E-Everything but.” Though the pages that followed were just blank. Nothing after that date of the celebration had been added to the book or removed. There was only one thing that Luna could be doing and that was to just set her wings for the castle in Everfree. If she wanted to know anything, however little, of what happened to Rarity. She needed to go to there and pick up the trail by looking into the past itself.

It didn't happen often that Luna felt herself the way she did in the moment. Though when she was frightened, it had a very good reason behind it. She –out of every single pony who hadn't gone mad– was one step closer. She was one step closer of discovering just what had happened to Rarity before she went missing. The trail would be leading her to the ancient castle in the woods of Everfree. So that was the place she would be going to, the only place where she could find more answers. More answers upon the many questions that surged through her head.

Before she would be leaving the boutique though, the alicorn would have one last glance on both the letter and the diary. After that, they dematerialized out of the world. They were being teleported over to a small safe in the room of Luna herself back in Canterlot. Nopony could be lying their eyes upon them until she found it was time to do so. Not even her beloved sister Celestia was allowed to see them. Not yet at least. Only when the time was ripe, would the truth be revealed.

Only after that did she look over to the moon on the outside world and began to gallop back to the front door of the building. Doors that happened to be in her way were opened by her magic before closed again. Even the front door listened to the rule and in the moment that Luna stood in the fresh air were her wings majestically spread and she took off into the air like nothing. The front door of the boutique was closed and locked again. The mare of the night made a sharp turn. She had changed her heading straight towards Everfree forest itself. “I will discover just what happened to you, even if it is the last thing I do for you,” Luna brought forth while she left the town behind her.

~~~~

The lunar alicorn almost crashed through the circular window. One that was one of the few remaining pieces from the time that the place was in use. She landed straight before the altar of the elements of harmony and dropped a bit through her legs. She wheezed and panted at bit from the speed she had flown in. Luna rose her body back up to its regal height shortly afterwards. She gave her wings a flap or two before they were tucked back against her body once more.

She had arrived at the scene of the crime, but there wasn't anything that indicated that something terrible had happened there. In contrary even, everything seemed to be peaceful and calm. Serene some would have called it. Yet the haunting atmosphere that it carried for Luna was something she would never be able to forget. The dreaded night that her sister and Nightmare Moon battled it out in the place was a memory that would always be sticking out in her head. One which she would always remember like a living nightmare. Whether she liked it or not.

Luna’s eyes looked at the altar itself and a deep sigh was released in response. Once it was the center point of everything that the land stood for, but while time progressed and the elements were discovered in their pony-form had caused that the interest in the thing slowly became less and less. Much to the princesses their very own sadness. Yet the time to mourn wasn't there. Luna had come for different reasons. She needed to get her answers preferred sooner than later.

For the princess there seemed to only one way in which she could be doing that. It was a technique that she had mastered over the course of time. One that Twilight wanted to know so badly herself. But it was also a rather dangerous one. One that mustn’t be experimented with at all.

Her horn charged itself up with a tremendous amount of power while the charging sounds became almost deafening. In her mind were the tomes yelled together with the dates of the events in an ancient tongue. From there on outward, Luna could only pray on the fact that she would have been a successful cast. The eyes of the princess closed themselves off from the world and the light that came from the horn, almost seemed to be burning like the sun before the blast finally came.

A blast that seemed to be so powerful that she had blown up the entire castle in the clop of a hoof. Though it was when the voices of two unknown stallions and Rarity spoke up in her ears, that the eyes would open themselves quicker than anything. Luna had done it according to herself.

The blue rimmed eyes began to dart themselves through the room. Everything she was looking at, had at least a tint of gray to it. What Luna had actually done was that she had turned back time. All the way back to the time of Rarity’s disappearance. She was not only allowed to look, but also walk through the past itself. Creatures couldn't be seeing her, but she saw everything that would have been going on there.

Right in front of her, right behind the altar, was it happening. The two shadow stallions that stood before Rarity, tried to persuade her into becoming their queen. “Impossible,” Luna spoke up while she witnessed the events. “You shouldn't be existing anymore. You all should have all died after Moon was blasted into oblivion.”

The scenes that played themselves out before her, almost seemed to be impossible. Luna quickly got her body moving again. Her legs brought her over to the place where she had a bit more of a clear view upon the matter as a whole. And she actually looked straight into Rarity’s eyes.

What she saw wasn't the usual happy unicorn who wanted to help everypony with their troubles. Instead she noticed a scared , little foal who hadn't even one single clue of what she needed to be doing. It was the sight that Luna herself only could be fearing. For a strong as Rarity happened to be, so weak she also could be if the tables were drastically turned. And from the looks of it, that was exactly the thing that happened.

A gentle nod was given by the unicorn before the eyes of the lunar princess opened themselves wide. She couldn't believe the fact that Rarity had actually gone in with the offer to become the queen. Luna never dared to dream that Rarity became the queen of those horrible nightmare forces. Everything that she knew and loved about the mare, suddenly was smashed against the wall and shattered. “No, no, no, no! You can’t be doing this Rarity! You couldn't have done this!” she shouted towards Rarity. Though the words were never heard except by her own ears.

Out of the portal behind her came the clouds. Those that would be cause the transformation to be happen. Clouds that caused the unicorn to actually become invisible to the naked eye. Luna desperately wanted to know just what was going on though. She wanted to see the monster in which the mare was morphed into. There was no more doubt to any of it, Rarity was behind everything that happened, but how did she looked like? That was the only remaining for her to figure out.

Though the more she awaited the revelation, the more the trail of clouds had been drifting towards her own horn as well. It was only when the two made a connection with one another, that a shock of pain rushed through the mighty alicorn. A shock of pain that caused her to break the contact with the past. The corruption was also trying to get back at her again, wanting to return to its former master.

With another massive bang and a blinding light was Luna dropped back in the present time. She panted deep and shook her head heavily. The shimmer of clouds that was still attached to her horn, just floated away before it dissolved itself. “Out of every possible outcome that could have been there on the matter, it had to be that horrible thing again,” Luna muttered to herself. She turned herself back into the direction of the crashed circular window. “It’s impossible that you have returned. You were destroyed by them once and for all. How could you have even survived!”

The more Luna spoke her words, the louder her tone got up to the point that she was yelling in the Royal Canterlot Voice. A tone that was so powerful, it caused the walls, ceiling and foundation of the castle to tremble a little bit. If she only knew just what the monstrous looks of the unicorn were after the transformation though. A lot of still to come trouble would have been saved that way.

~~~~

Speaking of the nightmarish unicorn, she stood in the open courtyard of her domain. The savages had brought back the beaten up Shadowfright and –blood. With her expression that stood on everything but friendly were the two being cast before her. The queen then stomped her hoof right into the ground, causing a few cracks to appear in the ground.

It was a massive wake-up call for the two of them. They dared to look straight into the eyes of the queen herself for a moment. “You two, you two think you could take over just like that? Just because my soul is merged with some dumbfounded unicorn, you truly think I wouldn't hold the same powers as before?!” Nightmare Rarity spoke in a tone that was more hinting towards Moon than anything else. “Well here’s a newsflash for you two idiots.”

Both Fright and Blood looked up to the mighty mare again. The both of them let out a deep gulp. They were bleeding the liquid shadow from their wounds created by the savages. Savage stallions that were still wandering behind the two of them. They growled a bit, almost as if they were waiting for the command to end the lives of the two weaklings in front of them.

“You two are not going to be taken over anything. You won’t even be thinking about taking over anymore as long as I reign!” the unicorn bellowed at the two of them. With the thoughts of it, it seemed to be that she would be casting another spell upon the both of them in order to keep them at bay. Instead she would be doing a whole lot more devilish and perhaps even sadistic.

“If I hear one more thought about either if you taking over while I am still your queen, you’ll be having a date with the four behind you within the hour. And next time, you won’t be getting off of them that easily,” the queen spoke in a dead serious tone to them.

Without any further word spoken by her, had Nightmare Rarity turned herself around and began to walk away. She had left the two commanders frightened for their lives. There was one price though, the savages merged themselves with the shadows. They would be returning to their posts up into the tower of the mare. They had their lessons learned, that much was certain.

~~~~

With Luna knowing what happened, the race had begun to end the frightful tyranny of the unicorn over the land. Though it wouldn't have been that straight forward. The road would be long, covered in traps and revelations. The clock was ticking and every side could become the victor in the cold war.

19 Whispermare

Luna shook her head at the revelation that was made before her. Out of everything that could have happened to Rarity, had the events as they went down in history been among the worst she could have imagined. It were events that not even Celestia herself could have known about until further information had been gathered. The only way to do that, was to actually send somepony straight into the fog of White Tails. All in order to come face to face with the nightmarish entity herself.

It would take a madman in order to do such a thing though. Yet Luna thought she would be having the perfect candidate right among her ranks. A pony who would be able to do the job and even tell the tale to her afterward. She was content with the idea. The alicorn of the night jumped up into the skies before she propelled herself forward, towards the castle of Canterlot.

Soaring through the night skies were her eyes locked upon just one tower. One that was hers alone to be used as it connected straight to her bedroom. With one gentle touch did the hooves land upon the balcony. The horn charged itself up just a little bit while the wings were tucked against her body again. After she had done a couple of steps forwards, the mare stood back in her own chambers and released a deep sigh. The balcony doors were closed behind her. Luna took further steps into the room. She gave her eyes the time to see if everything was still in its rightful place.

Luna would have stopped at the door that would be leading her to the hallway and opened that very same door. “Would the fine gentlecolts tell her to come please? I have a mission for her that needs to be as soon as possible,” she spoke up towards the two guards that were standing before her room. They both nodded to the words without any question. Without even a single word of their own had they left their posts. The went away in order to find the being Luna asked for.

The alicorn herself then retreated back into the chambers. She would have plopped down upon her bed and began to look over to the ceilings. Nothing appeared to be true at that moment in time. For her it all seemed to like it was either a lie or the half-truth. Everything that she had read, everything she had witnessed, everything she had listened to even, nothing added up at even one point of the why questions. The chance existed that perhaps her little informant would be able to shine light upon the case. A case that had only cast more dark than light in the moment.

There was an informant who arrived at her chambers not even five minutes later. Luna’s eyes glanced over to dark gray coated bat pony. Then the words left her with a serious tone. “Over time I have tested you more than once. And every single test was done with great results my whispermare, but the task I’m about to be giving you now, is one that even puts your skills and abilities to the test.” Luna turned her attention away from the mare. She allowed her gaze to fall upon the world outside. A deep sigh was the thing that she released through her nostrils before the words continued to be spoken and the revelation to be made. “I want that you go to White Tails and get captured. Get as much information as you can and return to me with your mind in one piece. It won't be easy, but I'm having faith in you.” There, the high word was out, the objective was revealed.

Without any other emotion had Luna turned herself back to the Whispermare and looked her sternly in the eyes. “Make sure nopony discovers who you are, nor that you speak the wrong words. One thing here falling out of alignment and we can all shake it. For this time, the fate of Equestria doesn't hang in the balance of the elements, but whether or not you can master your fears.”

It was a task given by a princess and one that couldn't be refused whatsoever. So without a word did the Whispermare nod to the spoken words. Everything was clear to her and she turned herself around in order to execute the orders. “May the stars aid you in your quest,” whispered Luna to herself after the bat pony had left the room again. “…And Celestia has not find it out, not yet.”

~~~~

The days came and went as normal. The nightmarish unicorn sat upon the throne within the darkness of her domain. With the eyes closed and not a single muscle moving in her body, it almost seemed like that she was nothing else but a massive statue. Yet she was still alive and kicking. Nightmare Rarity had sunken deep into the pool of darkness that consisted out of her powers and frights. She was pondering her mind on more than one occasion to plan the next frightful attack.

The nightmares that held Ponyville in its grasp for such a long time had been working out very well. Yet she never claimed it as her work. She was still hidden from the crowd. It was the thing that she wanted to be though. It meant that she could be going her way slow and steady. Fame and fortune through such things weren't the way she dealt with her troubles. The unicorn was a lot more sinister and clever when it came to it. She would probably have been caught already, if not hunted, if she had made a public announcement that the terror was her doing.

That was about the last thing she could be needing. Though in her mind were the plans made to attack metropolis’ like Los Pegasus or Manehatten. Even the royal city of Canterlot was mentioned a few times deep inside of her mind. So much terror could she be causing in such a little amount of time. Though caution was needed to do such a thing. Slow and steady had always won the race for her and it wouldn't be an exception any other way.

So many places where she could be striking her powerful spells of fight first. But there were only a few suitable places. If she wanted to, with one powerful attack could the entire apocalypse be unleashed over the lands. That was something for the eventual master plan, not for a simple attack to bring Equestria to awareness. Another storm needed to be brewing itself in the skies if she wanted to proceed with her attacks. That was about the thing she would be doing.

Another massive storm would be created and released over the pegasus capital of Cloudsdale. How, why and when were still the questions that needed to be answered. But she had the time to do just that. Or so she thought at least.

When the mare wanted to continue pondering her mind on the skies, both Shadowfright and Shadowblood had entered the throne room with news for her. News that usually brought her a sheer enjoyment. “My queen, the next test subjects have arrived for you, delivered by the shepherds. Nothing out of the ordinary, with the exception of a bat pony being among their midst,” Fright spoke to her. Only after the two had assumed a deep bow before their queen though.

Their wounds were still healing from the vicious attack placed upon them but it did act as a lesson they wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. In the days that followed would neither of the two even dare to think up for themselves. In return did that mean only one thing. The very fact that they were as tranquil as they would ever be getting. Their sentient mind had been converted itself into a collective one like most of the forces in the domain.

A thing that caused the unicorn perhaps an even greater pleasure than anything combined. It meant that she had the ability to gain the fullest of control over every last force that stood under her command. All of them were willing to do just one thing: executing the orders of their queen. That mindset was the thing that made them just so dangerous to fight against.

“All of the poor souls have been transported over to the dungeon, my liege. All of them are awaiting your arrival with the fear in their eyes,” added Blood. His eyes of gems kept themselves peeled upon the queen herself for a moment or two. Who on her own turn just rose one of her forelegs up and waved to them that they needed to get out of the room.

The two of them understood the message luckily. They did the thing that was asked of them. Both Fright and Blood stood up from their bow and made a quick turnaround. After which they would be leaving the throne room and thus her, once more. Their hooves could be heard clopping against the crystal steps of the staircase. The sounds were oddly harmonious and even unison to listen to, which was a thing that the unicorn did in secret.

Only after the two of them had left the stairs and merged with the shadows to let their wounds continue to heal further, did the unicorn open her eyes again.

Yet the sights that were revealed within them were everything but pleasant. Due to the strain she had placed upon her brain had every last blood vessel in her eyes become clearly visible. So next to the blue rims and the blue and green colored eyes themselves, there was also the haunting red of every last vessel that was just as clearly to be seen.

It was something that caused the already haunting eyes to become even more demonic in appearance. It also happened to be a thing that she didn't have any control over, nor had any actual issues with. To a certain degree, Nightmare Rarity even seemed to be loving it whenever it happened. It caused even more fright to be falling into the eyes of her victims.

Her body rose up from the throne itself with a slow rate. She then descended from the steps and charged her horn just a little bit up. In response to the magical charge, would the flames within the torches be lowered. All the way until they were nothing more bit a small heap of smoldering ashes. Ashes that were ready to be reignited when they needed. Her hooves then would have carried her over to the staircase. The one that would be leading her to the courtyard of her domain.

Which was about the only place where she could be breathing in the fresh air of the woods and feel the feeling of being still alive. From time to time she felt herself more becoming like a machine that was running all the time to complete the goals. Not that she seemed to be caring, though Nightmare Rarity did prefer to be a living, breathing being.

Either way, her eyes made a look up to the sun that stood high in the skies. A smirk caused itself to form upon her face. All the plans that were racing through her head made her feel just so deliciously nasty and evil. All the torment that she could be inflicting upon those that were in the dungeon under the domain was truly something mouthwatering.

The head of the mare lowered itself down after a minute or two of just continues staring. It was given a look to the doorway that would be leading her downstairs, down towards the prisoners within the domain. A deadly crackle left her throat while she had the plans ready right before her.

None of the prisoners would be escaping her powers that day. Though the interest had been mostly peaked in just one pony. The bat pony that seeming was delivered at her door for whatever reason. Never in her time of reign had one of those rare types of ponies even been spotted in the woods. “Maybe they are onto something. Lulu, you are still as stupid as ever. Hmhmhm, I will enjoy breaking your little servant in half,” the nightmarish unicorn chuckled up to herself.

The observation was made rather wisely by the unicorn. The bat ponies were only seen in the service of the princess of the night. Perhaps even long before the game that Luna wanted to play had begun, it had already ended in the advantage of nopony else then the nightmarish unicorn.

At the time there was nothing that happened to be clear. It could have been anything that laid down there, cowering in its cell. There was only one way to discover just what was going on down there. That was to witness it with her own eyes. A thing she would be doing with more than anything else in that moment.

~~~~

With a set of heavy sounding hoofsteps had Nightmare Rarity arrived at the cell in which the bat pony was placed. The eyes looked calm into the direction of a shape that she deemed as a mare. But with only the back being visible, she could only guess the face it carried. The gray coat and the wings were something already spotted, not to mention the purple haired tail.

In the cell itself was the bat pony hopelessly trying to find a way out. It tried to dig itself through the dark crystals that made up the entire domain. It was also an action that her to not get as far as she probably would have liked. “Feisty one, now aren't you?” Nightmare Rarity spoke before another devilish grin formed itself below her muzzle. “Turn yourself around so I can see your face.”

Almost on command did the bat pony stop the hopeless digging. It then lowered itself back on all four of the legs. The wings were tucked back against the body to pose no threat. Only after that did the bat pony allow itself to turn around. In the eyes of the unicorn fell the face of desperation. A look which she had seen countless times over. The facial features revealed to her that the bat pony was indeed a mare. Though something about the looks of that mare caused her to become even more interested. Almost as if that mare tried to fool the system as a whole.

The eyes of the unicorn stared back into the deep yellow rimmed eyes of the bat pony. A strand of mane had fallen before one of them. It was a thing that caused the nightmarish unicorn to snicker almost right away. All of the sudden did the glances went deeper into the eyed and the more the truth of the situation was actually becoming clear as crystal.

“Oh now this is going to be the joke of the century! You got any idea in how much trouble you have gotten yourself here little one? Just how much trouble you got your little princess into, hm? Hahaha! Oh I’m going to enjoy dissecting your brain while you’re still alive. You, shall never see the full moon again, I can assure you that right here and now,” the unicorn spoke up in a sadistic tone not only as a threat to her, but also to witness if her suspicions actually had been true or not.

The bat pony on the other end didn't seem to be getting even the slightest of clues on the matter. She had started to shiver deep from the words spoken. A genuine fear had filled the eyes but something told the unicorn it was all an act. Nightmare Rarity couldn't quite put her hoof unto it yet though. But who was to say she couldn't be doing it through time itself. “Do, or do you not, work for the royal lunar guard, foal?!” the queen said all of the sudden in a raised voice.

The bat pony shook her head rapidly from side to side in response to the question. “N-No miss, I do not. N-Never did and n-never wanted to either.” It was the first time ever that the bat pony spoke up. Her ever so sweet sounding voice seemed to have been unfit for any being in any of the military branches. Though perception was the perfect deception.

“Lair!” bellowed Nightmare Rarity.

“I’m telling you the truth here! I, I never joined them, I never wanted to join them! I declined every single time they would be asking me to join them. The guard or the army just aren't my thing of living!” The desperate tone of the mare spoke towards the darkened queen, it seemed so genuine in the eyes of others. But the queen knew better. The purple maned bat pony then began to whimper while prayers were being mumbled inaudible for the nightmare.

A nightmare who had been listening to the words. She couldn't help it but to chuckle even darker after her mind had processed the received words. “Oh now this is a quite the little something now, aren't you?” she spoke up with a sickening grin visible upon her face.

Other prisoners had dared to look up from their crawled-up position. They would have just watched with a set of frightful eyes to both the queen, as well as the bat pony. Something wasn't right at all, they sensed it. If it didn't, they all would be in the crossfire, no matter what. The only thing that they could be doing to prevent the massive pain was to just crawl back into their little hidey holes. Hoping to stay away from both the queen and the bat pony.

The other captive ponies wanted to live and not die of frights just yet. Though the scurrying motions weren't missed by the unicorn. Who on her own glared with her eyes over each and every last one of them. Though her prey was standing right before her, which meant that she needed to find a way to crack the bat pony. The manner of doing so had been hidden within the words spoken against her. Nightmare Rarity could use the words straight back against her.

“You said that the guard or army were not your thing of living. But what if the thing you do for a living, is espionage, eh? Whether they admitted it or not against you, they are at war against me. And in war, information is the most crucial piece to gain a victory,” Nightmare Rarity spoke in a sickening tone. She was in fact getting her enjoyment out of the torturing of others. Though the patience had been wearing thin as well against the bat pony.

Usually the ponies would have cracked within the first ten minutes, yet the bat pony seemed to be made out of a lot more sterner stuff. “Got nothing to say upon that matter, spy? Heh, perhaps I shall leave you here to rot like the rest of them. Or maybe I will conduct a little experiment upon your head first. I haven’t decided yet, time will find out just what your disgusted fate is going to be.”

With that had the unicorn turned herself away from the bat pony to leave her in the cell by the others. Though the bat pony herself wasn't stupid either. She had been looking at the shape of the queen her face for all of the time and eventually found a match in her internal database. The heads didn't exactly made a match but close enough for her to speak up a single name out into the air. “Rarity.”

In response to that name alone did the queen herself came to a standstill. She turned her head slowly back towards the dark gray coated mare. Not a single word was spoken by her though. All she did was to release a massive burst of steam through her nose and a grumble from her throat. Whatever she had done, the mumble of that name alone was more than enough to get the queen angry more than anything else.

~~~~

The name spoken by the bat pony literally fell in the wrong throat hole of the unicorn. After she had exhaled the cloud of steam, the nightmarish mare came up with the worst kind of torture there would be for the bat pony. “You lied against me in the first place and now you are having the very guts to say that name right after I turned myself around from you? You’re worth nothing to my eyes. I should kill you right here and now. But I won’t. Remember what I said about your brain?”

All of the sudden were it the eyebrows of the gray coated mare who opened themselves wide. She couldn't believe the words that were said against her. “N-No! You can’t, you can’t do this to me! Not to a mare like me! Y-You’re a mare as well, d-don’t you know any sympathy?!”

A huff of annoyance was the first thing that was released by the unicorn before she tore her eyes away from the mare again and continued to walk towards the staircase. “Sympathy, is a thing that I have never shown to anypony, so why should I be doing it to you in this case?”

“Because, because you’re still a good mare deep inside of you. Just touched, by the wrong hooves,” the bat pony replied to the queen. One who did came to a stop to listen to the final set of words. Perhaps she had done it. Perhaps she had dented the shield of the mare enough to make a little crack into it. The chance seemed small, but the possibility was there.

Nightmare Rarity did turn herself around and gently hung her head in an almost defeated manner. The feelings of relief were already flowing through the yellow eyed, bat pony. Her lips even dared to crack a gentle smile. Though she couldn't be further away from the truth as it happened to be. Every last bit of hope was meant to be destroyed in that place by Nightmare Rarity personally. And that time with the bat pony, wouldn't be any acceptation whatsoever.

“Maybe,” Nightmare Rarity started. She stood before the cell and closed her eyes for a second or two. “You are right with your words.” She then opened her eyes again. They stared straight into those of the bat pony herself. The sheer sadistic nature of them was revealed in just one glance and it caused the other mare to take a step backwards in both surprise and fear.

Then were the forehooves of the unicorn placed upon the bars with a smirk of utter insanity. “You know what these are, dearie?” she asked of the bat pony with a sickening joy in her voice.

The question itself was rather unexpected for the purple maned bat pony. She struggled a couple of times to make an actual reply to those set of words. Nothing that she could come up with, seemed to be able to help her outside of the most obvious answer that there was. “N-No, I do not know that,” she spoke up before her own head hung itself downward and the eyes closed.

She started to fear the answer that was about to come. The mare literally prayed for the best, but expected the worst. In her ears she caught the chuckle of the dark unicorn before the words followed suit. “The wrong hooves!” Only to have them followed up by a massive snicker of insanity as she then turned away and seemed to disappear from the dungeon.

With the words still being drilled inside of her mind, the bat pony had not a clue of on how she could be reacting to it, if she even was allowed. “I, I am sorry, princess, but I failed you as your whispermare,” the bat pony spoke up in a soft whisper to herself. “But, she is too strong even by my standards. Face to face… it is a horrible thing to be witnessing.” Even though she knew that Luna herself couldn't hear the words, they still gave her a little bit of comfort.

That was until the two commanders of the nightmarish unicorn had come out to get her. The door of her cell was being opened and the muscular Shadowblood was the one who managed to not only capture her, but also to drag her over to the door at the end of the hallway. “Hey! L-Let me go, you brute!” was one of the thing that she shouted to them was trying to kick each of her legs to him.

Sadly enough for her, it didn't seem to be doing that much of a job as every single attempt was just neutralized by his sheer strength. The Whispermare wasn't built for actual fight but for sneak. An ability she had little to nothing on at the moment. Fright on the other end had been standing behind the two of them all of the time. He would have walked forward with a chuckle while he opened the massive wooden door for them all.

The two stallions brought the mare over to the table where all the tortures usually happened and strapped her tight to it. No amount of force in her body could even get one of the things loose. She felt like she was trapped like a rat. Only after the two stallions had closed the door again, she was literally just that. But little did she knew, that things were about to get a whole lot worse.

~~~~

In front of her was a swirling and massive vortex from which the nightmarish unicorn merged with the physical realm again. She smirked deep towards the captured pony. One of the forehooves was being placed upon the cheek of the pony. It calmly started to stroke it as if she tried to comfort her. “So that is what you are, now aren't you? A little whispermare. I thought Luna would have learned after the first few attempts, but then again, she’s as dumb as box of rocks,” the voice Nightmare Rarity almost snickered to her prisoner while the horn charged itself up, coating itself within aura.

“W-What are you going to do with me, now you know the truth behind it all?” was one of the questions that the Whispermare dared to ask.

“Oh nothing all too bad really, just some regular procedures that I do with each of them in here. Except on a magnitude not seen before. You’re going back to your little mistress and explain in detail to her, why it is a bad idea to pursue me. Why it is a bad idea to open the hunt, for me.” After those words were being spoken, was the massive charge of the horn being released into the open world. A charge that went straight from the unicorn her horn, into the head of the Whispermare.

What followed were screams of complete and utter agony from the Whispermare. The entire room lit itself up in the blue color of both the magic and the lightning flashes. Pleads for her dear life were being made as well, pleading her to stop. But the nightmarish unicorn listened to none of them.

Both of the commanders on the other side of the door heard the screams. They were about to go onto the stairs and leave for the surface. They looked at one another with almost the same expression upon their faces and nodded gently. Not a word was spoken in between the two of them before they just ascended upon the stairs. They wanted to forget the sounds as fast as they could.

The screams of pure and utter agony filled the entire dungeon. All of the other ponies who had been curled up in an attempt to forget the screams. Though they all found themselves caught up within their agony. None of them could explain what it was that caused them to be going towards the bars and hoist themselves up from it. For whatever reason, did they just do it. Some had declared themselves crazy while others thought they were being controlled by the unicorn her magic like actual puppets. Puppets that she would use to humiliate the bat pony even further.

Though with the magic still indoctrinated in their minds, all of them did constantly look over both of their shoulders. They felt something staring at them from the darkness. The eyes and ears never seemed to stop twitching while the fears of the ponies were seen in almost every corner of the dungeon. Something that wore their minds out even more than they could have expected.

None of the captured ponies knew what was going on behind that door, none of them knew just what kind of sickening experiment the unicorn herself was conducting behind those walls. All that they did know was the fact that it was terribly to be the Whispermare at that moment in time.

Their own lines that separated both mind and reality, had been blurred out. If not shattered and the least that Nightmare Rarity could be doing, was the same to her. Even though some of the captives had the burning desire to yell, none of them actually had the guts to do so. They were all just too afraid of the consequences that would follow for them all. Even if even one of them did it, they were still terrified she would punish them all. Some didn't know just how much more they were able to take before they would literally die from their frights.

A sad fact where each of the ponies had bound itself to. Though it didn't mean that some of them didn't whisper to one another. Whispers that were faint about the actions that could be happening behind the door and words of courage. For those were the only two things that actually kept the ponies alive more than anything else in the cells.

Some wished for it to be over already while others could only pray on the princesses that they would be released from the hell they had gotten into with their sanity intact. Wishful thinking at its finest, but it was all they had. And even within their eyes, something was better than absolutely nothing.

Yet even among the captives themselves, there were still a few of them who didn't wanted to hear the yelling of the mare. Which meant that they stayed in the dark corners of their cells. They would have appeared like nothing but ghosts of a distant past while they laid on the ground. With their hooves would they have covered their ears. Even though they looked calm, they were everything but. Their hearts were racing like mad while the eyes looked in every direction every second. Those were the ones that were truly terrified for their lives.

Those were the ponies where everything could be happening with. Those were the group who had been there the longest and against all of the odds had survived test after test from the queen herself. They were simply waiting for their time to come and to actually die of either their fright or of the massive amounts of magic that she would be casting upon them during the tests themselves. But even that was just wishful thinking. As death would be the easiest way out.

Few had managed to keep their sanity so intact that they would be able to survive longer than a week with their mind unbroken. But usually it would take a day or two for a pony to break. With meals shifted throughout the day and not a single clock of light of the sun and moon to indicate what time it was, the captives were left in the dark and lost their track of time itself.

~~~~

Even for the Whispermare had the torture to end eventually. Though the nightmarish unicorn found it a shame to kill of her beloved subjects in the first run. So the lightning of the horn had become less and less, until it was discharged as a whole. With a massive grin visible below her muzzle did the unicorn stroke over the cheek of the crying Whispermare with a sickening comfort. “You fear a lot of things in life, don’t you. But the thing you fear most now is not a thing, is not one of the ponies you have spied upon it. It’s the one where you just gave yourself too without any thought that went through your head. The thing you fear the most, is me, correct?” the queen brought forth to her.

There was only one thing that the crying bat pony could be doing and that was to give her a confirming nod. Out of everything that lived upon the face of the lands and everything she had seen, it was that queen for whom she literally just had thrown herself for that was the frightening to her.

The response that she got, was something that caused Nightmare Rarity to crack even a deeper smile of insanity. Gently did the unicorn merge herself with the shadows and she left the room in order to make way to the tower that held her chamber. She had left the sobbing Whispermare right there, crying for everything in her life. “I regret everything, I regret everything I've ever done,” she whimpered to herself in a repeating session to herself.

Even when the two commanders came back to place her back in her cell, she continued to repeat it to nopony but herself. Only after the dark crystal cell door had closed itself again and was locked did the purple maned bat pony crawl almost instinctively over to the darkest corner of the cell. There she would have curled herself up into nothing but a ball of fur. The Whispermare already had a broken spirit and it was only the beginning of the end she would be facing.

All the other captives also returned to their original positions in their cells as they began to patiently await when the unicorn would return for yet another session of literal torture.

~~~~

While all of it was happening, was princess Luna herself gazing upon the stars through her telescope that stood on the balcony of her chambers. She hadn't expected to hear something back that soon from her informant. She was already frightened that the worst of the worst had happened. She knew the force that had taken over Rarity better than anypony, it was her who helped to create it even. She still didn't had not a clue of what the manners of working happened to be of this new force.

Though she was removed from her very process of thoughts and calm stargazing. There was a knock that did its turn upon the door. It wasn't the usual knock of Celestia nor one of the guards from what she heard. With curiosity did the alicorn turn her head over to the door that was inside her bedroom and charged her horn slightly to open it. “Come in,” she just stated.

The pony that she would be meeting, would be one that would cause all of her feelings to be turned upside down as nopony else then Twilight Sparkle herself, appeared on the balcony. Taken by a genuine surprise from the visit, Luna didn't knew how to react to Celestia's prized pupil. “Twilight Sparkle, I, I have to say that this visit is something rather unexpected for me. Is there something I can help you with perhaps?” she managed to bring forth.

Twilight shook her head a little bit as an initial response. “Nothing really that you could be helping with princess, I just want to get to you know better. See the mare behind the crown, if you catch my drift,” the unicorn then said to the princess.

Once again wasn’t it something that Luna had expected to hear from the mulberry unicorn. The princess was struck by the second surprise of the evening. Though the third time always happened to be the charm. Even in the case of Luna and Twilight, it wouldn't be any exception.

“This certainly is something rather unexpected. You wish to know me how I am in my times off, now don’t you? Well it is actually a first that somepony seems to be interested in that, I can guarantee you that right away. But as you can see, gazing upon the stars that are in the skies, is a much preferred hobby of mine actually. It calm me down from the matters I receive in the dreams of many ponies,” Luna said to Twilight, honest and calm.

Twilight listened with care to the spoken words while she also took the mental notes of them. She wanted to remember them for times that they were possibly needed. “I see, your highness, it’s actually something I love to be doing as well but it usually doesn't calm me down. It more excites me in a way that I can’t describe.”

It was a composition of words that caused the lunar princess to crack a chuckle. She then gently shook her head with a set of closed eyes. Though when they were opened again was the horror seen in the fullest of glory. In the corner of her right eye, the eye that caught the moon just barely she could see the shadow of something. A shadow was cast as if a massive light had been placed on it and a figurine was placed before that.

Luna became worried in an instant. She turned her entire head over to the thing for a split second. Only to realize that it was just the moon she was looking at. The shadow had just disappeared before her eyes. Yet she could have sworn that she caught that shadow a moment before. “Are you, alright, princess?” Twilight asked with care. She tilted head to the lunar mare.

Who on her own turn looked back to the unicorn and gave her a small nod to calm her racing thoughts down. “Yes, yes I am. Just a little bit spooked shall we say. But anyway, you wish to look for a bit through my telescope? Want to see the pillars of creation for yourself?”

Twilight would have taken the offer with glee. Before Luna even knew it, were the violet rimmed eyes of the unicorn already staring down the thing. But the princess never dared to look at the moon from the corner of her eye again.

~~~~

All the way back inside of the domain of the nightmarish unicorn, had she collected herself, as well as her personal guards, in the courtyard and the gates had opened themselves widely. The only thing that they saw were the massive banks of fog that hung before it yet none of them cared. They were in the need to get out of the walls of the domain and get some fresh air for themselves. Or that was the thing that the queen herself wanted to do the most.

As for the savages, they were just out there for some fresh meat. Any kind of meat that they could be finding within the woods of either White Tails or Everfree. In the dead of night did the nightmarish unicorn and the deadliest forces she had under her go out for a stroll through the woods.

20 Whisper no more

The violet rimmed eye looked through the telescope right up into the skies high above Equestria. Without any tuning to the thing done, Twilight looked straight up at perhaps the galaxy’s most amazing thing. It was something that caused her feelings to be stirred like nothing in the world could have ever done it. Not even the finest print of her favorite book could be having the same effects and the pleasant shiver that she got from looking up into the skies high above her and seeing those wonderful creations.

“The pillars of creation, even more beautiful than I could have ever thought they would have been. So, majestic, if you excuse me the term. That, is true beauty right there and princess, you have the best seat in the house with it,” Twilight said with an excited tone to her voice. She had taken her eyes away from the telescope and gave one last glance over to the skies as they were.

Everything she had seen in her entire life could be summed up with those very words of beauty. Not even the experience from all of that could tip on the fact of just how amazing those cosmic nebulae were. It were also words that caused the lunar princess to blush a bit. Luna wasn't used to such words from anypony different then her beloved sister. But they weren't unwelcome either, that she had to admit that to her. Even though it wasn't done in a verbal manner.

“Why thank you, Twilight. And I do have to admit that I indeed have the best seat in the house when it comes to it. Not that I’m complaining about that of course. The pillars always seem to be having that kind of nature to them really. Even when I still glance upon them one day of the week, I find myself magically intrigued by them. Something of about them is just so mysterious,” replied Luna in a low sounding voice of herself. With her own eyes aimed towards the general direction of the pillars, they almost seemed to be appearing right inside of her eyes. One pillar, for one eye.

Twilight released a gentle giggle in response to the words. After that would she have released a deep sigh of mixed but positive emotions. Things seemed to be going for the better. Everything that was bad, was forgotten just for that small moment in time itself. “I, I don’t know what to say to this. I never expected to be seeing something that beautiful, that close to me.”

Luna would have lowered her head a bit down in order to look the mulberry unicorn into the eyes. The pillars inside of them would disappear at a slow rate. “Well, they are still light years away, I can assure you that. But I do understand the direction you are coming from though. You’ll have to believe me when I say that certain things aren't learned by studying a dusty old book. No, Twilight,” the lunar princess spoke before she gained a much wider smile below her muzzle. “Some things are meant to be seen by your own eyes. Understanding beauty, is one of those things. And those pillars, you find them amazing. Just like myself.”

With care did the ears of the unicorn listen to the words that were spoken against her and there wasn't anything else that she could be doing outside of agreeing with them. Luna managed to hit the nails right on their head when it eventually came down to it. Perhaps the strangest part of all, was the fact that she seemed to be happy about it. It wasn't something that Luna herself could have ever predicted to happen, though what happened next was something even more unexpected.

Without a warning or word did Twilight walk up to the alicorn. Even before the lunar princess could have reacted, were both of the mulberry mare her forelegs placed into the neck. A tight hug was given to her. A hug so tight had Luna ever received from anypony, not even her sister would have hugged her that tight. The hug was so emotionally powerful that it cracked a tear or two in the eyes of the princess. She would have returned it by wrapping one of her forelegs over the back of Twilight and brought her even closer to her.

“Thank you princess, thank you for everything you have shown me here. Maybe it may not have been much, but quality over quantity, right?” Twilight whispered before she left a small giggle of her own words.

Luna on the other end was literally speechless of all the happened events and didn't spoke a word. Though the emotions and motions made by her were more than enough for Twilight to realize she was expressing the gratitude of her own.

For a good set of second was the hug between the mares held. Then it was Luna herself who broke it with a set of gentle motions. The hooves of Twilight were released from the mare her back and they lowered themselves unto the ground again. The green and bluish rimmed eyes of Luna looked over to the other mare and gave her a simple nod with a genuine smile.

“You’re welcome for everything, princess,” the mulberry mare whispered to the alicorn. After she had spoken the words, she had begun to make her departure. It was something that caused the princess to look up with a baffled expression upon her face and followed her suit.

“Going already, milady Sparkle? What’s the hurry if I may ask?” Luna dared to ask.

“As shameful as it is to admit, I’m still a pony who feels herself best comfortable roaming around in the daylight provided by the sun. If I don’t go to bed now, I will never fall asleep for the night and thus end up with a massive headache and grumpy mood tomorrow,” Twilight pleaded as her excuse on the matter. By then she had reached the door of the bedroom and looked over to Luna one last time. “You don’t want to see me grumpy, honestly.”

“It, I understand, it’s fine. Go, go and get your needed sleep. I sometimes forget that ponies like yourself are be needing sleep in order to get through the next day. Goodnight Twilight,” stumbled Luna out. The smile dropped itself while the ears went flat.

“You sure about that, princess?”

“Yes, yes I’m sure.”

Even though she didn't seem to be trusting it a whole lot, Twilight still believed the alicorn upon her words. The only thing that she could do, was to leave the mare alone with her thoughts to ponder. Twilight’s departure of the room was something clean and swift. One moment she still was there and with the next had she been gone. It left the princess to drop herself down on her bed and sigh deep. The eyes closed themselves while the forelegs were placed over her chest.

“What to make of this?” Luna questioned to herself. There would be a single tear that steamed its way down her cheek.

~~~~

Though back within the woods of Everfree, nothing seemed what it was as the nightmarish unicorn was accompanied with her pups. They were just wandering through the darkened woods without a true goal for their eyes. They almost seemed to be like ghosts who were traveling upon the land of the living. Or at least one of them was, the other four really were like dogs that followed their master. Their journey had caused them to leave the fog covered woods of White Tails and they had been wandering through the woods of Everfree for quite the little while by then.

They had walked past the old castle that had been visited by Luna not even a few days ago. When they had arrived upon the place, the savages actually smelled the magic of the mare that was being used. It still lingered in the air for them to catch unto even though the trail was already old.

The nightmarish unicorn didn't seem to be noticing it one bit. She just ordered her savages to continue roaming with her. Nightmare Rarity didn’t even had the desire to walk into the place and have a look around. It wasn’t something that came up within her systems. All that she wanted to do, was just to get away from there as quick as she possibly could have gone.

The company had then been walking for close to an hour. They had arrived at perhaps their next spot of the trip before they would be going back towards the domain. Under the light of the moon itself did the nightmarish unicorn thought to have seen something shimmering in the distance before them. It wasn’t some sort of light made by magic or by ponies. She discovered that it was some kind of reflection of the light which was cast from the rock itself.

Curiosity was the thing that had taken her more than anything at the moment. The will to investigate had taken over every single sense of her body. Her pace was being slowed down to a crawl and the savages followed almost suit. Their eyes were looking into every direction to make certain that they wouldn't get ambushed from any side. No matter what they could have been done, they always approached everything like it was a massive trap.

It was their habit as it was the best way that the unicorn herself had designed them to be. Even if it was through some rather unforeseen side-effects. The blue rimmed, cat-like irises of the nightmarish unicorn herself glanced upon the light and took a step closer. “It’s, it’s a pond, in the middle of the forest?” she whispered to herself. One of the eyebrows rose itself up at the sight of it.

She couldn't really believe the sights that were seen with her own eyes. But she still continued to take steps closer to it. With each step that was being taken, the revelation was being made more. Literally in the middle of the forest of Everfree, without any indication whatsoever, they had stumbled upon one of those mythical ponds she had heard about through time itself.

“Waters that must never be drunk by any creature, for the time would go either forwards or backwards for it,” Nightmare Rarity recalled herself. All five of them stepped out of the vegetation. The savages wanted to drink from the waters. But after having taken a sniff or two, they turned themselves straight back around. If the scent alone was enough to make them turn away, what could be truly in the waters?

There would be a time to discover that fact either sooner or later. The nightmarish unicorn herself dared to make the step towards the edge of the pond and closed her eyes. “They are the stuff of legend, pony-tales made up to keep the foals entertained about the mystery of Everfree. Concealing the truth that lies behind it all,” she spoke up to herself more as an excuse of the things she thought to be seeing.

Though she opened her eyes again and looked into the waters themselves. A thing which caused every last bit of that excuse to be smashed against the wall and shattered into a trillion little pieces. Her argument made against the pool had been busted when it did show something to her. Within the waters of the pond before her did she saw two figures. Two figures that both controlled the body. Stronger even, the two figures out of which the entire entity was built from.

A bit to her left there was the ivory unicorn with her genuine happy smile below the muzzle. While a bit to the right was the horrid face of Nightmare Moon clearly visible in the calm water. The both of them seemed to be in their prime and high days of their lives, something that caused Nightmare Rarity to be even more frightened. It seemed to be rather impossible that something like that, could actually be happening or had happened.

Something about the things she saw into those cursed waters, didn't make even one bit of sense. Luckily for the queen was the distraction to not think about that anymore there. It happened to be literally just behind the trees that stood in front of them.

From the darkened treelines had it appeared with a mighty roar. The paw of a lion smashed itself against the bark of a tree next to it. It caused it to shatter while the stinger of the scorpion tail was shot forward. “Oh, hello there,” the dark entity said. Nightmare Rarity had evaded the stinger like it was nothing. A grin formed itself below her muzzle as she looked straight into the eyes of the beast that was so foolish enough to attack her.

“You might have mistaken me as your late night snick. Well here’s something new for you, big boy, you’re the late night snack of my pets,” she spoke up before a step backwards was done. The creature itself didn't understand even one bit of the events that were going on. Though in the moment it saw the teeth of the savaged shadow stallion, the race for survival had been fired off.

“Boys, tonight on the menu is manticore. Do as you please with it,” Nightmare Rarity ordered before she erupted in a snicker. One that would make any being uncomfortable of being around her. Though there were the shadow stallions were just shadows that could take a physical form, for her it would have been the other way around. Getting involved into the fight was about the last thing that she wanted. So the wise thing was done by her and she actually retreated back into the shadows to let her savages handle with the massive creature.

The four savages growled a bit like an angered dog towards the mighty creature of Everfree before the screeching howl of the attack was released. The fight was on and only one side was able to actually get out of it alive.

~~~~

Almost in unison did the savages just jump straight at the manticore. They would have started to tear away pieces of flesh like that. Which revealed the bone and muscles that laid beneath it. The creature screamed it out in the pain while the tail stung one of them –if not impaled. The claws were used to get two others off of his body. With the one savage stuck in the actual stinger of the beast, the venom that was stored inside of it was pumped straight into the savage. Who in return roared it out in the pain before he tried to bite the entire tail literally into two pieces. The jaw of the muscular stallion opened and closed itself continuously as it tried to get to the tail of the beast.

Though luck wasn't on the side of the manticore itself. For with two of the savages on its foreclaws, one stuck on the stinger, there was still one that needed to be dealt with and it just paced itself up and down before it with a huff every so often. The manticore couldn't concentrate itself on the matter as it was. One of the other creatures, one of his brethren had tried to get a hold of its tail every possible second. A thing which the manticore didn’t like at all.

So the only thing that it knew that could be done in order to actually make certain it would stop was a good smash on the head. Which was exactly the thing that was done. For with one powerful lash of the tail towards the ground did the savage hit the rock solid ground and was actually knocked out.

The manticore was the first being in the entire world that managed to have knocked out one of the unicorn's personal guards. That same unicorn had been watching the scene from a safe distance. With her brain had she tried to make the calculations of the impact that was being received to the skull. Though not even her mind could be calculating in such big numbers without any form of help from paper. The fight was that powerful, that brutal even.

The other two savages were taken by their necks so that the jaws were a safe distance away from the flesh of the being. Though the first and initial attack of the beings had torn massive holes in the wings and flesh alone. All that was left to be done, was to bring an end to the being there and then. The savage who had been pacing up and down before the manticore had been waiting for a mistake. One mistake was all that it would be taken in order to finish off one of Equestria’s deadliest predators. And it would be doing literally everything to make certain that it would happen.

With the passing of agonizing seconds did the two enemies look at one another in the eyes. Not even blinks were granted, it meant a sign of weakness and thus a change for the opposing force to attack. Not something that was wanted by either party.

Yet where the nightmare forces had no eyes to look at and thus nothing to blink with, the manticore did. Being alive was the biggest disadvantage that it would have in front of the shadows. It was in the one moment that the blink was being made that the pacing just stopped dead in its tracks and the legs of the savage carried the creature over right to the neck of the manticore.

Without any sign of remorse or mercy had the jagged fangs set themselves into the flesh of the predator. One who released a gruesome sound in response of it. The pain that was going through the neck was more than enough to release other two and then it was over. There was nothing that the manticore could be doing in order to prevent its death from happening. The fact had to be witnesses as they were and in nature was it eat, or be eaten. A rule that applied especially to Everfree forest itself.

In the eyes of the predator had the tables finally been turned though. With a loud thud unto the ground did the muscular mix of creatures fall down to the ground. Mere seconds later it took its terminal breath. The creature had died from the wounds right on the spot and the three savages began to eat from their prize almost right away. The feeding frenzy was more than enough to keep them happy for weeks when it came down to another hunt.

In time did the fourth one even came back to its knowledge before it joined the party as well. It would be eating every remaining bit on the skeleton until the stomach was full.

~~~~

Listening was the only thing that the nightmarish unicorn had been doing all that time. Somewhere in the distance had she heard the voices of ponies that came through the woods. With her pups stuffed on the flesh, there wasn't anything else she was interested in before the legs had been stretched. Not to forget the fact that she wished to remain hidden from the massive crowd.

The mental order was given to each of the savages to merge into the realm of the shadows as well and to make a quick escape from the place. They followed the order in an instant. They would have been the first ones to dart away and return to the domain all the way back in White Tails. Nightmare Rarity had made up the plan to be doing the same thing. But the closer she heard the voices come, the more interest she actually got into them. The queen was getting more and more curious to see just how they were looking and why they were out there at night.

Something about the ponies that were hidden among the darkness was sparking her attention with every single second. She granted herself the best seating in the house for the events to come. In her clouded formation had the unicorn traveled up against a tree and laid her body lengthwise upon a branch thick enough to hold her weight. If they would be looking up or even in the general direction, they wouldn't be seeing a thing. Though she could be witnessing everything.

Through the vegetation had they then come, two stallions that were dressed like rangers of some had sort stepped out of it. They were horrified when they saw the corpse of the freshly killed manticore. “Tis impossible that this thing just died, everything’s gone of it already,” one of them spoke up as he pointed to the bones. “Could never have been the screams.”

“Now don’t be so certain about that, rookie. This might be your first night out here, but you still have a lot to learn. It’s eat, or be eaten in these woods. The only forest where it applies. No, this one fell victim to a thing with multiple heads. And from the looks of it, as massive appetite. You know a creature with multiple heads that live around here?” the older stallion spoke. He looked at the rookie with a set of stern eyes.

The eyes of the rookie became as wide as they were allowed and the fear could be read right into them like an open book for the unicorn. “You don’t mean that… that there is a hydra on the loose around these parts?” he spoke up with a frightful tone to his voice. Genuine fear had filled him from hoof to head to tail. “I, I never thought, that they were coming this far out of the marshlands.”

“You might be surprised by what a creature will be doing when it’s hungry, rookie. You will be surprised by that,” the older stallion replied to him. He turned his eyes away from the heap of bones and skin. Instead his eyes looked to the branch where the invisible Nightmare Rarity laid upon.

Though she happened to be quite the confident mare in her abilities. So she just stared right back into his eyes. It was something that was causing him to shudder and shiver a little bit in response. “Oh I know quite the bit of what a creature will be doing then,” Nightmare Rarity whispered to herself. She spoke without sounds, that way she wouldn’t have alerted the two ranger ponies underneath her.

The older stallion turned his head away from the branch. He allowed it to fall upon the waters of the pond. Once again had he felt that same shudder and shiver travelling his spine. “Like it wasn't worth enough already. Come on, rookie, we have nothing to search here and do anymore. Not with such a pond in the close neighborhood,” he grumbled out.

It was a set of words that caused the rookie to shake his head a couple of times in response. He didn't seem to be getting just what was being told to him. Out of everything that he had previously heard from the mouth of that stallion, it was that they had to stay as long as possible. While at that peddle of water, they would be making a hasty retreat? Something just didn't feel right there and then. The older stallion wasn’t telling him everything he needed to know.

Though the time to ask the questions that were on his mind weren’t granted. The fact was that the other pony had already left the scene of the bones and pond. “Uh, hey! Wait for me!” the rookie yelled at the other stallion before he rushed after him. In the ears of Nightmare Rarity did the words echo they exchanged with one another before those became whispers and then they finally disappeared out of her hearing range.

It was also a thing that caused her to merge with the physical realm once again. She grinned like the devil that she was towards the entire scene. With her hind legs that laid over one another and the tail in between that and hung off to the side of the branch, the forelegs would be kept crossed over one another and the mane blocked out one of her eyes. “Oh trust me, ranger of Everfree, I do know what a creature does when it’s that hungry. And it is everything but pretty,” she spoke up to herself before the sickening snicker left her.

A snicker that went through the marrow and bone if somepony that would be happening to be around actually heard. A frightful sound that was everything but comforting. Though she couldn't be lying around on that branch all night. Even though it was oddly comfortable, she needed to return to her own domain in order to entertain some guests she had. “Do you hear the whispermare? The whispermare is near,” she spoke up to herself before her body once again merged with the shadows. “When you hear the whispermare, turn away your ear.” And then she started with the final sprint of the race. The sprint straight to her beloved dark crystal domain hidden deep within the fog of White Tails woods.

~~~~

Once she had returned inside of the safe walls of the domain, the unicorn herself stood in the courtyard. She glanced again upon the three doorways that were the only ones outside of the exit. One by one she was getting her thoughts of them and evaluated her feelings. Though none of them seemed to be doing her any good. Each of the doorways had they own story to tell and it wasn't a pretty one. Even in the dead of night it wouldn’t have been.

Yet there was just one thing that she needed to be doing. Which was to take the middle one in order to get some of her much needed sleep. Her hooves then almost automatically began to carry the body over to the doorway and then straight up the stairs. A massive strand of mane fell before her eyes. Yet she continued to climb up before reaching her very own chambers.

Inside of the room had the unicorn dropped herself right upon the bed. She would have snuggled up against the blankets and pillow before she would be going into a deep sleep of her own. A sleep in which even she would still be suffering the nightmares with which the entire scheme began. Nightmares that were the fuel for her powers and abilities. The very bubble of magic in which she was trapped in herself had revealed to her. Only to be forgotten again for the next day.

A day that had the unicorn getting out of her bed earlier than ever. After she had combed her purple and white mane, she stood in the courtyard once again. A fresh swig of air was taken into her nostrils. All of the smells caused her to exhale deep in response. She seemed to be happy on that particular morning. Happier than usual that was. It didn't seem to be having any particular reason.

Though the silence in which she stood was disrupted the moment the Shadowblood came out of the dungeon. He would have gone up to her straight away. In the corner of her eye had she noticed him coming and only expected that trouble would be following him suit. Though little did she knew, just the news happened to be that he was going to bring to her. “My queen, the bat pony, she has gone crazier than any other soul after the treatment you gave her. She’s getting out of control, turning into a vampony for all we know!”

“Stick a stake in her heart, then she’ll listen if that’s the case,” the unicorn returned in a chuckle to herself. Her eyes continued to be looking upwards to the skies.

Though the answer Blood received from her wasn't the one he was actually hoping for. Instead he could be doing anything then except laugh. “This is getting out of control, my queen. She is becoming unhandleable and next thing you know, the entire dungeon is getting into a riot.” His words were spoken in the urgent tone that did made the unicorn listen to them with a set of perked eyes. Almost as if she couldn't believe it herself what he was saying.

“Oh really now, commander? Is she becoming that much of trouble, this little whispermare of ours? Then I suppose you know just as well what we need to be doing with her right?” the nightmarish queen spoke up after she finally had even granted him a look from her eyes. The head turned itself over towards him as an even bigger grin formed itself below the muzzle.

To make the party even more complete, the four savages had stepped out of the shadows behind the mare with a growl in their approach. Though it was the mere sight of them all that caused the commander to shiver in his own fears. Even though the growls weren't meant towards him, they still seemed to be that way. “Are you proposing, what I think you are, my queen?” he dared to ask.

“Tie up the wings and bring her to me. Then we shall handle this once and for all,” returned Nightmare Rarity to Shadowblood. The shadow stallion made a quick bow before he turned back to the dungeon. “Open the gate! We’ll be getting another runner.”

On her command was the front gate of the dark crystal domain opened. The first thing that entered was the massive barrier of fog. It almost flooded the place with it. Though most of it began to sink down to a thick and compressed layer upon the ground. A layer that was not even half a hoof thick. It was something that the queen had cast with her magic. The forest would listen to her, instead of it being the other way around.

~~~~

Deep within the bowels of the dungeon had Shadowblood returned once more to the cell in which the bat pony was being held. A bat pony who seemed to have returned to the ancient roots of her species. She hung upside down against the bars while her wings were wrapped around her body to form some kind of cocoon. “…Right, and how exactly was I going to be doing this again?” the stallion muttered to himself. He scratched the back of his head while keeping his eyes on her.

Blood didn't actually saw another way than to just get in there with her and do it with nothing but brute force that he had in his body. One way or the other, he would be getting the bat pony and he would get another day to live. Though in order to get her, he would be having just one shot so it had to go right the first try.

Unknown to him was the fact that the mare had heard the words he spoke against her the moment he came down into the dungeon itself. Though it would only have been after he had locked himself into the cell with her, that the fun would have begun between the pair of them.

The moment that was done, was Shadowblood almost tackled down to the ground by the crazed bat pony. Even though he could repel most of the attack, the force she was expressing on his body seemed to be a whole lot more than he originally had thought. “Ugh, so you’re a lot stronger now, ain't ya? Well here’s something new for you,” he growled up to her.

All of the muscles inside of the stallion’s body were tensed even further. He managed to get a good hold of one of her forelegs as well as the neck. With his own forehooves placed just right, Shadowblood managed to roll around and thus gain the upper end in the fight. “Sorry missy, but you ain't biting me today,” he chuckled to her. The entire forehoof was used to keep the neck to the ground. An action that was more done to keep himself safe, then any of the others. “Somepony please tie the wings of her and get it done, would you?”

One of the guards who had been watching pretty much the whole time, walked into the cell and did the thing that was being asked of him. “Now you be a good, little bat pony, so this might actually work out for you,” he spoke to her in a taunting voice.

Though the only responses that he would be getting out of her, were nothing but hisses and growls of hatred. “Help yourself then.” Blood was then tabbed on the bars with the message that the ropes were tightly secured around the wings and that they wouldn't be doing anywhere.

~~~~

The light of the sun was the first thing that fell upon the face of the Whispermare in a very long time and she released a deep hiss towards it. She wanted to return to the darkness of the dungeon, but the access was being blocked. When the head was turned to the side, was it the nightmarish unicorn who could be seen in the fullest of glories. In an instant did she just rushed right over to her.

The Whispermare would only have been stopped by the savages that all four had taken their position in between the queen and the bat pony. “Now you just play along nicely or the game will already be over,” said Nightmare Rarity with a sickening grin. One that was clearly visible below her muzzle. Whatever she had planned for the bat pony, it would be anything but good for her.

“Gone mad by my powers, is what they say and when I see you here like this, I would say that that is pretty correct.” A deep chuckle was given while the eyes continued to investigate the creature from tail to nose in the fullest of detail. “So this is what the bat ponies become after you lock them up in a vault and show them their worst fears, natural predators that want to suck the very life out of every living being they encounter. Shame I don’t need such a being in my ranks.”

The bat pony herself just started to walk up and down on a bit of ground. She made it look like she was listening to the words spoken. Though it was only the question if they were actually understood by her mind. It didn't seemed to be giving a much needed care to the unicorn. Hisses and growls were the only things that were released by the Whispermare. Not even a single word of pleading was left from her. She was a tough one, that much had to be admitted by the queen.

“Now then, this is where the fun really begins,” the nightmarish unicorn said. She then glanced even deeper into the eyes of the bat pony. “I’m going to give you a chance to run away from this hellish place. Only catch is that my little pups here, will be chasing you all of the way. Do they get you, it’s game over on the spot. Do you manage to walk away, congratulations. Though know this, nopony has ever won the game.”

The discouraging words weren't something that kept the Whispermare particularly frightened or anything else for that matter. She understood only one thing out of the words. She understood that she was given a chance to get out of there. A chance that she would be taking literally with the both of her hoof and wings when they were given the chance to be freed.

Though the motions made to just start running were already enough for the nightmarish queen to see just where it would be going to. Another massive grin slowly formed itself below her muzzle as she nodded to the batpony. “Go, go now and never return to me alive!” she shouted to the maddened creature.

It was a set of words that needed to be only said once to her. Almost within an instant had the Whispermare been gone like the wind. She had galloped straight out of the doors of the domain. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, go,” Nightmare Rarity counted to each of her savages. At the word of ‘go’, all four of them were just going crazy. The screeching howl was released once again by one of them before the chase was being set. Another hunt was on but this one happened to be one that was to please their queen more than anything.

~~~~

Rushing through the fog covered woods did the Whispermare tried her utmost best in an attempt to find her exit out of the devilish place. Yet every direction that she went into caused her doubts to be raised further within her mind. Even in her state of madness did the logical side that she had still try its utmost best to push through. She had to fulfill the duty that was given to her by princess Luna. Though little did the ponies in the domain knew, that it was actually all just a play.

She had never gone actually mad. The Whispermare had actually managed to somehow withstand the massive charges straight into her head, much to her own relief. Though now that she was lost within the fog of White Tails, not even the Whispermare herself knew which way she needed to be going. “Luna give me strength to do this,” she spoke up to herself. The wings tried their best to uncurl themselves but it never worked. Not to mention the fact that the knots of the things were on her back which was a place impossible to reach by her own.

It would have been the strength she was be asking for that she would receive. Although not in the manner that she had originally hoped. One by one they managed to get in a corner of the bat pony. A bat pony whose eyes looked at the four of them and took careful steps back to stay out of their jumping range. Though they continued to come closer and closer until the mare bumped into a tree trunk. That was the moment when she knew that everything was just lost for her. That was the moment that she knew her life would come to an end. “Whisper, no more,” where the last words to ever leave her mouth. After that would the savages have attacked her with everything they had.

~~~~

In the domain itself was Nightmare Rarity on the lookout for the savages. Once they had returned, they had a present for her. The head of the Whispermare was being dropped before her forehooves. It was a thing that caused a sickening grin to appear upon her face as she released a chuckle. “Oh this here, is going to make a very nice example for the two of them,” she spoke up just before the head rose itself up to one of the more common clouds of shadow and the command was spoken. “Deliver this to your majesty the princess, Luna of the Moon. I’m sure she will be happy with it. Though don’t get yourself caught or there will be the devil to pay,” the nightmarish queen said.

22 The chase is on

Nightmare Rarity stood upon the balcony of her domain. The eyes glanced over the mighty horizon that seemed to be stretching itself for miles upon, without end. Her eyes were given the true time to look at the sheer beauty of the red and orange color within the skies. The sun was setting down behind the mountains and hills to end the day once again.

Yet with the wind that was blowing calmly, it caused her purple and white streaked hairs to wave within it like they had always done. Her nostrils opened and closed themselves almost countless times. Almost as if the queen was sniffing the air like a dog who tried to pick up a scent. She knew that the package had been send and delivered. The only question that remained was where the armies were staying.

“You’re coming for me at one point or another. But the question itself is just going to be both where and when. And that, is what bothers me more than you think,” the nightmarish unicorn spoke up to herself as she released a gentle growl before her eyes looked over to the moon who was already raised. It was a thing that caused the mare to have her own questions upon it all.

The sun and moon were both visible within the same skies. That was a sign which meant that something had gone wrong in the house of Canterlot. The unicorn almost knew exactly just what it happened to be that had set up the scenery. A slow but evil snickering was released through the mouth of the unicorn as her eyes kept themselves aimed towards the moon itself.

“Spooked now, aren't you? Oh but you trust me, there is a whole lot more of where that came from my dears. Just, you wait. For in time, nopony can escape the demons that are inside of their head,” spoke Nightmare Rarity. Her horn coated itself once again in the magical aura.

The humming and the lights became almost too much to both hear and see as she kept on charging. Lashes of lightning were released from the tip of the gem and made contact with the dark crystal railing before seeming disappearing into nothing. It would only have been a matter of time before the charge itself would have been released before the eyes of the world and another attack would be released.

In the courtyard of the domain had many of the clouds of shadow looked over to the queen upon the balcony. They couldn't fully understand just what was going on in the moment. But whatever it was that she was trying to do, it did create for this amazing show of light for them all. A show of light that didn't escape the mind of Shadowfright one bit. The commander turned himself around and took on his stallion like appearance to watch it with his gem eyes.

“This is impossible,” he whispered to himself. With the attack on his life was still in his mind and the wounds having fully healed, he began to think again for himself. The sights that he managed to see were something that was rather impossible and literally unbelievable to witness. Never in his life had he seen so much power going through the horn of the unicorn, of any unicorn.

There was however one point in time where the dark alicorn did something pretty similar to that and that was to cover a major settlement in darkness. “Will history repeat itself?” the stallion asked himself aloud. Though he kept his volume in just a whisper to. Something about it all just didn't seem to be adding up for him. Something had triggered her for whatever reason.

Yet in the meantime had Shadowblood been keeping himself busy in the dungeon. He would have emerged as a cloud upon the courtyard and looked over to the balcony of his queen. Not even he could believe the sights he saw. Something about the raw power output that she did, caused him as well as many others of the nightmare forces to become scared. One wrong motion, one wrong word and they all would be just vaporized from their witty existence.

Silence was the emotion that dominated the inner walls of the domain, together with the tension of what was about to happen. None of the nightmare forces even as much dared to interrupt the queen’s actions. Not even the always so loyal savages showed themselves. For even they were afraid of her power. A thing that had never ever happened before or after their own transformation.

Then it just happened. In the matter of second it was just done and gone. The massive charge that had been saved, was released into the air. In the evening skies did the blue bolt of magic travel across the skies like a mythical comet that came down to the land. Except that the tail of the comet had the same side effect as the storm she had produced weeks ago.

Shortly after the bolt had been fired and soared across the skies, Nightmare Rarity’s horn would have discharged itself completely. When it was discharged, the smoke was coming off of it. Though that didn't stop her from grinning and chuckling like the madmare that she happened to be. The utter insanity that was flowing through her thoughts caused the volume of her to be reaching levels that it echoed through the whole of the woods.

Each of the nightmare forces in the domain looked up in a frightened pose towards that balcony, while the false shepherds in the woods all turned their heads towards the domain after their ears caught the sounds. None of the forces could have even expected just why she was doing that, but all they could guess was the very fact that something that she had done seemed to have gone straight to her will.

~~~~

Though the sounds themselves just didn't stop at the borders of the forest. They traveled even further to the very inns that stood near the edges of it. In one of them had the pegasus mare caught that faint laughter. The mare stood outside in the hope to get a fresh nose. She heard a laughter that was almost haunting like caused her to be spooked and she turned her attention over to the treeline. “What in the name of the heavens high are we having now?” she whispered to herself.

Nothing in her world had ever prepared her for the sounds she just heard, nothing in her world even remotely resembled the things that she had heard. It seemed impossible but the creeps were crawling up the legs of the mare as she gave off a shudder. “This can’t be… This forest, this forest is haunted I tell you,” she said to herself. Her body turned itself around in order to go back inside. The safest place within the nearby surrounding was perhaps the insides of the inn itself.

She wanted to barricade every last opening in order to make sure that that force wouldn't have been able to get inside. Though little did she knew just what that forces was actually capable of. “Oi, close down everything tighter than ever for the night. Something tells me that something terrible is going to happen this very night,” she said to the barkeeper in a whisper.

With the little guests that she still did have, the mare didn't wanted to throw in the panic by them just yet. The barkeeper himself on the other end, turned himself around and leaned against the top of the wooden bar and looked at his boss with a shady look. “So you heard it too?” he replied to her in a whisper of his own. A fact that scared the pegasus mare just a little bit.

“How couldn't I? I was outside when that ear piercing sound came through. For goodness sake, how on earth would I have been able to miss it, if even you heard it?” the mare answered. She took a bottle of an alcoholic beverage and opened it. Without taking a glass of any sort was the bottle was set upon her lips. The next thing was that she took a big swig right out of it.

“You are rather absent ever since that incident with the stallion, remember?” the barkeeper returned to her. He took the bottle straight out of her hooves. “No booze for you tonight. If it indeed is going to be as you say, I need you to be sober. If you’re drunk, I can just give you straight to them.”

The pegasus mare stared over to the stallion with a look that was everything but friendly. Then there was a deep sigh which was released through her nostrils. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll be in my office if you need me. And don’t forget it.” Those were the last words to be spoken by her. She disappeared upon a set of stairs and went to one of the upper levels of the inn.

“No ma’am, I won’t,” the barkeeper whispered almost inaudible. He placed the bottle on the counter and turned himself back around to see the guests. “Right, still got you lot to take care of.”

Hours would have both come and went. The time to finally close the things for the night had set in. Never in his life had the stallion felt so much fear as he had done that very evening. Even if the guests didn't wanted to admit it, they were also just terrified of something for that night. Something terrible was bound to happen to them. Except they hadn't the slightest clue of just what it happened to be. The mood in the ground floor of the inn was tense to say the least. Though that very tension seemed to becoming weaker with every guest who went to bed. It was a thing that came much to the relief of the barkeeper before he finally found it was time to close everything off for the night.

The mare on the other end had been sitting behind the desk of her office. She had pondered her head upon the matters that had come to her light. Yet when she looked out of her window and towards the moon, there was the most incredible sight she had ever seen being revealed to her. One that even managed to pierce itself upon her retina.

The moon itself was covered in a blue light of an object that flew before it. The comet that was fired by the dark unicorn soared past the moon at incredible speeds. Though the play of light that it created was something nopony could have ever expected. None of the ponies in the land would be prepared for the things to come. Nopony was ready for fear knocking at their doors.

The pegasus mare kept on looking towards the hunk of space rock through the window of her office. The stallion looked at it from the last uncovered set of windows on the ground floor. All the doors had been locked and double locked, all the blinds had been placed before the windows both in and outside. Though the magic of the moon covered in the blue aura and the comet that soared before it, had him captured by his imagination. Never had he something seen that beautiful. But the beauty, was about to be turned into a horror.

Just after the comet went past the moon itself did something happen. The very shadow that Luna had seen in the corner of her eye when Twilight was looking through her telescope, had managed to return in the fullest of glories upon the surface. The only exception being that that time, it was clearly visible from every angle that the eyes would be looking at.

It laid in wait and preparing itself was that what the magic had done after it was fired towards the rock. For weeks it had calmly laid there while preparing itself. Until the command was gotten to reveal itself to the world of the ponies that lived upon the face of the land.

Once again did the shadow image of the unicorn appear itself before them all. That alone was more than enough to cause some genuine frights to be happening by most ponies who witnessed it. Though with the shadow standing upon the moon in that intimidating, sideways pose that looked over the ponies, it would be the deadly snicker that gave every last soul the creeps on it.

There was nothing that could have prepared them for that laughter that was given to them. The fear that it spread was something nopony was resistant against.

~~~~

Not even in Canterlot itself were the ponies free from the laughter. All of the five friends and the two princesses looked upon the moon with horror in their eyes. They couldn't believe what they saw. “T-That’s the face!” Fluttershy whimpered. She yelped and almost dove right into the tail of Pinkie.

It was a thing that worked for a little bit. Only the head managed to get itself in the curly and puffed up hairs of the party mare. “That face, Ah've never it before,” Applejack mumbled. She remembered only having seen the eye of the being clear as day. Those very same eyes were just one of those little things that wasn't revealed to the others.

“Well, whatever it is, that snicker I heard when I tried to enter the dreams of you all,” Luna spoke to them. She kept on looking to the moon though. “Whomever this is, I think we found our suspect. And Fluttershy, you were right. It is far too refined to be Nightmare Moon.”

“Then, who is it, princess? Can’t you make a suggestion about it? An old enemy of you two maybe?” Twilight questioned to the royals. Who in return both tore their attention away from the window and turned back around. Back to the pile of papers and documents that all had been sniffing through in the hope to find the name of the stallion. “Please?”

Where Celestia released a deep sigh before she would continue the search in silence, Luna would have turned her head over to the group while her body was placed sideways. Her eyes looked honest but also worried to her soul. She was worn out from the reading, they just looked tired and overall not her usual self. But she did took the responsibility of answering Twilight upon her. “That, Twilight Sparkle, is the same thing that happened to me over a thousand years ago. Ladies, what you’re looking at, is the possible successor of Nightmare Moon.”

All of the ponies gasped for air. None of them even wanted to believe the facts as they were presented before them. None of them even wanted to believe the words. Though countering a princess upon such words would have been everything but wise thing to be doing. So instead they all turned themselves around and calmly walked back to do their job. Their thoughts pondering of just how everything came to be. Yet it also acted as a massive flame to find that stallion mentioned.

Where everypony would have returned to the search of the stallion. It was Twilight herself who dared to look back at the moon and sighed deep. It was obvious to her already, that the slender body build and the structure of the face could be leading to one pony alone. “Oh Rarity, where have you gotten yourself into now? Why, why didn't you spoke with nopony about this? Were you truly, that afraid to tell us?” Those were just some of the question her mind was being plagued with.

Though when the time was there again, Twilight had also returned to the duty of finding the stallion, whatever it would be taking. Words wanted to be spoken upon the matter for certain. Each of the seven mares felt the ‘eyes’ piercing right through their souls. Almost as if the figure upon the moon was looking straight at the seven of them.

It was a feeling that came much to the annoyance of Luna herself who eventually took the measures into her own hooves and closed all of the room’s curtains. “I’m getting sick of the being stared at for my mistakes. I don’t need her to remind me to that,” she growled up. Her horn then calmed itself down to just a levitation field to keep the documents in that she was reading from.

~~~~

Back over at the inn had both the mare and stallion gathered themselves at the window on the ground floor and the pegasus shook her head towards it. “Whatever it is going to be, it is going to be bad news for us all. I can almost guarantee you that,” she spoke up in a whisper before a hoof was placed upon his shoulder. “Close it all, then go to bed. We’ll be needing our sleep for the night.”

The stallion himself gave her a nod before her closed down the hatches as the mare already returned to her own room and bunkered down into her bed. The night would be a tough act to go through for certain. But what they didn't knew was that everything done was just for intimidation. As well as to rain the fear indoctrinating magic upon the city of Log Pegasus. Only in the matter of a few days would they be feeling the massive effects of the fears and frights.

Though when the stallion himself also turned to bed, he couldn't shake the sounds and images out of his head. It would be those sounds and images that would be haunting them for the rest of the night. Whether he would be liking it or not, the fuels of nightmares had been given to him.

The stallion turned himself around in bed in the faint hope to get at least some of his shut eye though the chances would be kept to a true minimum for that. A thing that went for the both of them actually.

When the two closed their eyes and wanted to sleep, all they could be seeing was that haunting shadow of the nightmarish unicorn queen upon the surface of the moon. A sight that rightfully frightened them. But they weren’t the only ones. Tons of other ponies around the land shared the feelings. Her presence had been noted by all. Though few could point hooves.

~~~~

While the images of the nightmarish mare faded from the rock through the gears of time, back in Canterlot had the ponies found some rather interesting leads to just who, why and what when it came down to the stallion. Thanks to careful reading through thousands of documents about every last pony that seemed to be living in the kingdom, they finally seemed to be having three leads that could be bringing them somewhere. The only shameful part was the fact that two of them laid a couple hundred miles away.

“Taking the train to such places is going to be a hell as it take hours to get there hours to find him, not to mention hours to find him!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed when everything was discovered.

Yet it was Twilight who laid a comforting hoof upon the shoulder of her friend. She followed it up with a gentle smile. “It is true that the distance is enormous, Dashie, but keep in mind you have two alicorns and a unicorn right here with you as well,” she said to her. The smile only got bigger and bigger. Almost as if she was trying to tell something to the group. A thing they could only hint at.

“What ya tryin' to say here Twi?” Applejack then asked of her. The cowgirl didn't seem to be getting any or all of it. Or at least she couldn't wrap her head around it all. “Some explanation would be helpful before anything else is done, ya know that, right?”

The mulberry unicorn looked over to her orange friend and gave her a single nod. She then turned her head over to the princesses. Who on their own had been breeding a little plan that they could use “With the possible locations of the stallion that are known to us, we can not exactly pinpoint where he would be today. That much is certain indeed,” Celestia brought forth towards the mare. She then would have looked over to her younger sister, giving her the words in silence.

“However, what we can do is send some of you, if not a group of two, out to some of the locations in the attempt to discover the very place where he could possibly be. So the question here is, who is ready to be teleported to Manehatten, the Crystal Empire and here in Canterlot?” Luna then said. There would have been a smile coming from her lips when she had finished.

The decision fell tough upon each of the ponies. But eventually were the groups made. Rainbow and Pinkie would be send to Manehatten to search out the stallion, while Twilight and Applejack would be staying in Canterlot. Though it meant that Fluttershy would be on her own. In any normal cause would that have seemed like some big trouble lying somewhere in a corner and waiting to happen. They had to remember that that time was everything but normal though.

And that time she seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Which was much to the disbelief of all the other ponies. “Well, you see girls, the Crystal Empire isn't that bad to wander around on your own. Cadence is the princess there, remember? All the ponies are just so friendly and helpful with her back at the throne. I’m actually honored to be going to there,” the shy, yellow pegasus told and explained to her friends.

Friends who couldn't even believe a single word of the thing that were spoken against them. “Yeah right,” whispered Rainbow to herself. She shook her head a little bit. “Ponies there are just as bad as in Manehatten if you don’t look out.” Instead of others agreeing with her statement, all that she received was a punch to her side given by Applejack. It was meant as an indication that she needed to keep her mouth shut. “Alright alright, I heard you.”

“Then so it shall be done. Each of you will be send towards the destination through a powerful teleportation spell. There is however, one backlash to it,” said Luna just before she walked towards the five of them. All of their eyes gained a sense of curiosity as they didn't fully understood just what was being meant by those words. “You will only have one hour before you are automatically zapped back to Canterlot. And let me address this even more: don’t get into trouble. That goes for all of you. We have enough on our heads as it is. Any questions?”

Luna’s words couldn't have been more clear for each of them. Finally didn't the princesses talk in riddles and cryptic words, but just plainly stated the words as they were supposed to be. Something that came much to the relief of both Applejack and Rainbow. Though none of them had their questions and Luna began to charge up her horn to cast the spell upon the first two mares.

“Remember, you will only be having an hour,” she repeated to both Applejack and Twilight. Then the massive charge was released from the horn and they were just gone. Gone in the clap of a hoof and it had to happen two more times. It would have drained the princesses from their powers.

With care was the spell cast once again. That time upon Fluttershy alone who also was just gone literally in the manner of a second or two. Finally it were both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie who got zapped over to their destination. Something that only left the royals inside of the throne room and a deep sigh of Celestia was the first sound outside of the discharging. “You really thought this was going to be a good idea sister?” the white alicorn asked. There was a genuine look of confusion upon her face. One that seemed to worry even Luna about the facts as they were.

“If I only knew that sister, if I only knew,” replied Luna with a simple tone. Their eyes were then caught by the rising sun of the next day. “The next couple of hours, shall decide what will happen next for us all.”

~~~~

“Princess! …Horseapples,” muttered Twilight to herself. She had made the sudden realization that they weren't in the castle anymore. Instead was she standing in the business district of the city.

“What’s the matter ,Twi?” the cowgirl asked before she noticed the concerned look in the eyes of the unicorn. Even though they could be flying at one another’s throat from time to time, the concern for one another still happened to be there. A loving fact was it for certainly. For Twilight it meant pretty much the world to her.

The purple rimmed eyes of the mare looked over to the cowgirl while a deep sigh was released through her nostrils. “It, it’s just that the castle was protected by that shield, remember? And now that we are here outside, who knows whether or not we fall victim to the curse of, her,” she said to her with a worried tone. It was something they had the right to be carried on for certain. Nopony even wanted to be captured in the grasps of the unicorn again, let alone sleep for two weeks only to suffer the worst nightmare ever.

Applejack on the other end managed to crack a genuine and warm smile before she placed her hoof upon the back of her friend. Something that was meant to be saying that everything would becoming just fine. “Twi, listen to me here for a bit. It was princess Luna who cast that spell upon us right? Ah reckon she was that wise to give us all a personal shield for the time we would be out here. Wouldn't ya agree?”

It were words that hit the unicorn pretty much straight home for certain. Not to mention the fact that they were actually logical when it came down to it. It would have made sense of such an act was actually done, as they were the only lead that the royals would even be having in order to get to the stallion without going personally. “I, I suppose you are right on it though,” the unicorn whispered as she also cracked her friend a smile and felt the rays of the morning sun tickling her horn.

“Hey, can we, stand here for just a minute or two?”

“Ah don’t see the problem in that partner.”

While the two ponies stood there, the sun slowly crawled further up against the skies. The rays didn't just coat the horn, instead it coated their entire being. Something about the first morning rays of sunlight always did something to a pony that couldn't be truly explained by words or any other thing. But what was known though, was the fact that it made them feel just so good for a couple of seconds.

“Nothing beats the good ol’ morning sun if ya ask me,” the cowgirl said while she kept on sunbathing for just a bit longer. She then opened her eyes again and looked towards Twilight.

Who on her own turn shared the looks with her friend and smiled. “You got that part right. But let’s go, we have a business to find and prepare for disappointment,” the unicorn added before she kicked her legs into gears. Applejack chuckled a little bit. Almost in an instant did she knew what was meant by most of the words. Though others caused her to question a little bit.

The cowgirl threw her legs into gear as well and together did the two ponies wander over the sidewalk of the district as the questions just wouldn't leave her mind until they were asked. They were looking for the right building where the stallion supposedly worked or had worked, the question was being asked there and then. “Twi, what do you mean with we needed to prepare for disappointment?” Applejack asked out of sheer curiosity.

“The lead is from years ago and most ponies tend to change their jobs every so often. So the chance is bigger that he has left this job of his already, for the sake of getting a new one somewhere else. However, they might be having some good information there though. …Speaking of, here it is,” Twilight said to her. The unicorn came down to a standstill before a rather impressive looking building. The mares had to admit that the city had so its certain charm. Yet never would they have expected a building like that to be raising before their eyes.

“Ah should here more often, cause that’s a work of beauty right there,” the cowgirl chuckled up. She took her hat off and looked at the very top of the skyscraper.

“You and me both, you and me both, Applejack,” Twilight replied as she was simply being baffled of the sights that they both saw.

Though the insides of the building –or at least the lobby of the place– looked even better than they could have ever expected. Where the building was a beauty on the outside, the insides did happen to be even greater. Not even the castle of Canterlot seemed to be able to tip at the place’s beauty. It appeared to have borrowed some design elements of the castle though.

Though they weren't there for any sightseeing sadly, they were there to find the pony they were looking for. The mares walked up to a reception desk and gave a smile to the stallion with an arcane headset who made a motion with his hoof that they had to wait a little bit.

Notes were written down upon a pieces of paper while the occasional nod was being made. “It shall be done, sir, I will give it to Finances and then we’ll be going seeing how it goes from there. Bye,” the stallion spoke up in a higher pitched voice then the mare had expected to be hearing.

“What?” the stallion spoke up in response to the two oddly looking mares that had gotten in front of him. “Excuse me, where are my manners, how may I help you fine ladies today?”

“We...” Applejack started. Yet she couldn't form any more words in her mind. Just his unusual tone was more than enough to confuse the cowgirl.

“We are looking for a stallion named Emerald Masquerade. Supposedly he is working here or has worked here.” Twilight then finished up. Even though it was strange, she could at least focus on the facts as they were.

The stallion behind the counter rose an eyebrow the moment he heard the name and sunk a little bit in thoughts of his own. “Oh you mean Emmy! I remember him quite well actually. Shame he was fired a couple of years ago. A fine coworker in my eyes. I’ve heard that he moved to Manehatten, but after that it seemed like he has vanished from the land. Is there anything else I can help you with?” he then spoke up towards the two of them with a smile.

“No, that’ll be all,” Applejack finally replied to him. A smile managed to be cracked upon her lips. “Thanks for the info though.”

“You’re welcome,” the stallion returned to them just before the mares left him alone again.

~~~~

When Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were coming back to their knowledge did the two of them stand in an alleyway that seemed to be leading to some kind of bar. The pegasus was already getting her shady ideas of just why somepony would have been going down there. It was a place that he was spotted a couple of times. Even though it gave her the creeps, she nodded to Pinkie that they needed to be going and fast. The entire atmosphere of Manehatten itself just didn't work for the pegasus for one reason or the other.

The two of them calmly walked down the alleyway. Down until they were standing before the door and the excited Pinkie kept on hoping upon her spot. Something that caused the bouncer outside to lower his shades a little bit and look at the two of them. His grey coat but emerald rimmed eyes continued to gaze over the two of them. He dared to speak his words. “What is she on?”

It was a simple question but the answer to it was something a little bit harder to explain. The chance existed that it was impossible to a pony who lived outside of Ponyville. “She isn't on anything, she like that from herself. Now can we please enter, we’re looking for somepony.”

“Are you the cops?” the bouncer then asked bluntly. The mares had to admit that he was straight to the point and not afraid. Though recalling the words of Luna of not getting into trouble soared through the both of their heads. It would be a promise hard to keep up, but they would be doing it just for the sake of it.

“Right, and that’s why I took my hyperactive partner with me? You thick?” Rainbow spoke up in an intimidating voice towards the bounces. “Do I look like a cop to you, does she look like a cop to you?” The cerulean blue hoof was pointed to Pinkie. Rainbow laid the emphasis on her words and glanced the gray coated stallion deep in the eyes.

“I suppose not. Walk further please, but no trouble or you get into a whole lot more.”

“Heard ya,” the pegasus returned before they both entered the bar.

When the two of them entered did they immediately realized that they had come into the straight underworld of Manehatten. Outside of the smell of booze and smoke could they see quite a lot of weaponry just lying upon the tables, like they were nothing. All of the sudden did everything began to make sense to the rainbow pegasus. She wanted to get out of there straight away and with good reasons behind it.

Though she was leashed to Pinkie, who on her own turn had already hopped over to the bar and had taken place upon a stool. The only thing that Rainbow could do was pretty much the same. Though the fear of all the figures that were looking at her never left her. The two of them literally stuck out like a sore thumb with the coloring of their coats as both gray and black seemed to be dominating, followed by everything in between.

The bartender looked at the two of them and gave them a smirk. “Lookie here boys, two new buttercups that were entered. Let me guess, wrong turn at the square?” he grinned to them.

“Actually, it's something else,” replied Pinkie. She grinned like a little devil and dumped a bag of bits upon the bartop. “I’m looking for information of which I’m certain you can provide for a couple of tourists.”

“Right on, I’ll be your guide for the day,” the barkeeper returned to the mare. He took the bits and hid it below the bar. “You paid the price, so ask away.”

“Emerald Masquerade, does that name ring any bells to you?” Pinkie then asked in a dead serious tone. It was a change of character that Rainbow never had expected nor could have expected from a pony like Pinkie. She was baffled to say the least, but also lucky as it meant she didn't had to speak a word in the situation. A little something that could be seen as her saving grace.

“Ha! Another debt collector or hitmare send upon him? Wouldn't be the first time that stallion danced with the devil. Though to break the ice with you doll, he hasn't been seen here in six months. Nopony knows where he has gone to. Whispers speak about he moved to the Empire since it has returned. But they are just that, whispers. Can I offer the both of you a drink?” the bartender asked to them, reading two glasses already for any kind of liquor.

“What do you think, Dash?” Pinkie asked to her friend.

“Suppose it can’t harm, as we still are stuck here for some time.”

Pinkie grinned then softly just before she spoke up again. “Make it two of the strongest drinks you have. Let’s test that liver of yours, Dash.”

“Oka- …Wait, what?!”

~~~~

After having rubbed her head softly from the zap had Fluttershy opened her eyes again under a gentle groan. The that sights were presented to her seemed like beauty within her eyes. Everything that she was seemed to be like a postcard that she could be sending towards her friends. All of the crystal ponies that just wandered about and around with their own minds busy with something else, it truly was something she could look at all day.

Not to mention that the buildings shone nice and bright. The palace was visible over the tops of the houses. Every single doubt, every bit of fear, all were almost shaken right off of the mare before perhaps the biggest chance had been noticed. Even she was made up out of the crystals again. Her crystalline form had been taken once again and she giggled towards it. Fluttershy gave her body a spin or two. Giggles of enjoyment were released before the bell tower hit the hour.

It was the chiming of that very same bell that caused the pegasus to be knocked straight back into the there and then. She had to find that stallion no matter what. Records had it that he seemed to be living in one of the apartments in the more southern district of the empire. So that was the first place that she would be going.

Minutes past one another calmly while the crystal pegasus walked through the Empire. Her eyes just weren't focused upon getting to the location, but also to the activity that happened to be going around and about. Who knew, maybe she would be walking past him without even knowing if her eyes weren't going into every direction. It was a little something that she said to herself of doing, just as an ‘in case that’-event.

As time went by, it seemed that her luck paid off. After she had walked almost fifty minutes through the empire, the time to reach the location wasn’t there anymore. Though she meant to have seen something else. Something else that could be helping her perhaps a whole lot more than she originally could have even thought it would.

Her eyes were looking at a small cafe and on the terrace sat a crystalline stallion. One with emerald green colored mane. A mane that was in fact actual emeralds given their physical state. Enjoyment was the emotion that suddenly filled the pegasus as she hurried herself over to the place and then calmly walked up to the table the stallion sat behind.

“You mind if I, sit down here for a moment?” Fluttershy asked him in her usual shy tone. Though in response she didn't got any form of words. Instead she received a simple nod that allowed her to do it.

The crystalline, yellow pegasus sat down with a graceful motion and placed her forelegs upon the table. She needed to ask the question of course but perhaps a more formal introduction was more on its place. “The name is Fluttershy, by the way,” she carried out softly. Though she added something she didn't intend to do. “I’m a friend of Rarity.”

Yet it seemed to be those unintended added words that caused the stallion to set his cup back on the table and actually raise an eyebrow to her. “I beg your pardon, miss, but did you say that you were friends with, Rarity?” The pink maned pegasus could only nod in response as it was the truth. “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in years. Tell me, are the rumors true that she just, disappeared?”

“Are you… Emerald Masquerade, by any chance?” Fluttershy asked in return. It was then that she felt something tugging on her tail. Instantly knew the pegasus that it was the teleportation spell that was going its job again. “Could, could you meet me here, in a few days again? I’m sorry but, I really need to get going here. Uhm, let’s say two days from now, around noon?”

The stallion was taken by a massive surprise as he didn't understood a single word from what she meant about leaving. Though he did gave her a nod about the following meeting.

“Great! See you then!” were the last words of the pegasus before she was teleported back towards Canterlot in a zapping fashion of blue lightning. Which on its own left the stallion upon his chair with a couple blinks and then looking down to the liquids in his cup.

“…Well that was unusual. Though we shall meet again soon enough, Fluttershy, and see what this is all about,” the stallion spoke to himself. The cup was brought again to his lips and he took a sip.

23 Emerald Masquerade

The blue lightning occupied the throne room for the third and last time in just under a few minutes. Only after the portal had opened itself was the pink maned pegasus dropped out of it. She landed straight on her flanks with a little bounce. The mare blinked a couple of times. She had not a single clue of what had either happened or where she had been zapped back to.

Something that took her perhaps more than just a few seconds to realize. When Fluttershy looked over the throne room, there wasn't even the breathing of the other ponies that could be heard within her own ears. She had to relocate herself a bit more than she would have ever thought. Everything inside of her mind had become a mess and the change of location that fast actually caused it to almost become scrambled eggs.

“Fluttershy, please turn around, you’re back in Canterlot,” the voice of Celestia said to her in her calm tone. One that was really aimed towards the confused pegasus. Though any initial response they didn't truly managed to have gotten out of the mare. Instead she kept on looking until finally and out of herself, she turned herself over to the royals with a set of blinking eyes. “There you are, took you a little while to make the realization now didn't it?” Celestia chuckled a bit to her before she calmly walked up to her.

Fluttershy just gave a silent nod in return as she didn't truly knew just how to answer upon that question. However, what she did realize, was the fact that Rainbow Dash laid literally wasted upon the ground while holding her tummy. “W-What happened to her?”

It was a question that caused the mulberry unicorn to sigh a little bit but she didn't answer the question. She didn't found it would have been her place to do such a thing, not with the events as they were turning out to be and have been. But Pinkie Pie on the other end, who laid next to the pegasus to keep an eye on her, giggled as her head peeked up. “Let’s say that Rainbow’s liver isn't as strong as I thought it would have been.”

“W-What have you, done to her, Pinkie?!” Fluttershy yelled in a low tone before she darted over to the cyan coated mare and simply looked over her. “Don’t tell me you have done anything bad to her! You know how sensitive she will get because of that, don’t you?”

Pinkie stood up on all four of her legs and nodded towards both of her friends before she would be opening her mouth again to speak her words. “Let’s say that we had a little drinking completion while we were in Manehatten. More, is best left for private ears.”

“…And I’m not one of those ears?”

“Didn't want you to be scared to death by them?” added Pinkie.

“If I may, ladies?” the voice of Celestia echoed through the room. Her voice caused all of the mares to look up to the alicorn of the day to the best of their abilities. Though to make things a little bit easier for them, the white mare spread her wings and gave them a couple powerful flaps before she got airborne. She didn't fly away or anything, only raised up to a higher altitude to look at all five of them below with her calm yet stern eye.

“We’ll talk about this later,” whispered Fluttershy before her attention became truly fixated upon the alicorn. Celestia had become again the center point of all the attention.

“Each of the groups has told me the news in the chase of the stallion. However, without much luck. The leads we had seemed to be wearing slimmer and slimmer. That is, unless you have something good to bring, Fluttershy. Your time in the Crystal Empire, did you found anything? Anything that could be helping us to find this pony?” the concerned voice of the princess echoed through the throne room.

All of the ponies understood the words from the mare more than ever. Perhaps the entire fate of Equestria laid in the balance whether or not Fluttershy had discovered anything.

All of the eyes were suddenly looking at her. The pupils of Fluttershy herself literally went from corner to corner before a yelp was released through her mouth. As scared as she was, she had to tell them just what was actually going on in the walls of the Empire. “I, I, I've,” she began before closing back up again to formulate the sentences right in her head.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Rainbow Dash wasn't there awake. The other pegasus normally would have been pushing her to hurry up. It saved the yellow pegasus the yells that she needed to hurry up. She actually took her time a lot more than others while everypony was kept waiting in anticipation. “Okay, here goes nothing,” she managed to bring out.

A sigh in relief was taken from each of the mares. Though never so loud that Fluttershy could actually hear the sounds that were being created. A little something that also acted hugely in the favor of the pegasus. “I, I have found him, really.”

Those words alone were more than enough to get a set of wide eyes from every single pony that was in the room. Nopony could have believed the fact that Fluttershy –the shyest pony they had ever met in their entire lives– had actually discovered the biggest lead into the case for the successor of Nightmare Moon. “Unbelievable,” whispered Luna to herself. She was the only one to speak the thoughts of everypony present.

“I, I’m certain it’s the right stallion although we didn't got the time to truly talk to one another about it before I got… zapped back to here. Though I did a-arrange a meeting for us to continue the conversation. There,” Fluttershy continued to speak. Her stage-fright managed to take over again and she released a small yelp before crashing down upon the ground.

Applejack released a gentle chuckle before she walked her way over to her friend and laid a warm hoof over the back. “Ah reckon we all know where we’re heading to now, don’t we?” she spoke up mostly towards Fluttershy to show her, she wouldn't be alone in the events to come.

Princess Luna took a few steps forward while Celestia landed back down on the ground. The white alicorn would have tucked her wings against the body with a smile. Though it would have been Luna who would be speaking the words that were on both of the royal sister’s minds. “You five, shall indeed be going to the Empire on the first available train. Grab the things that you will think you’re needing. Then it’s off with you all for Fluttershy has to catch her, date,” Celestia said to them all.

A few giggles left and right were released by the mares while Fluttershy herself dared to peek through her mane towards the lunar princess with a gulp. She never intended to actually date the stallion but from the looks of it, she might as well have been.

None of them knew just what they would be discovering within the walls of the Empire itself, none of them even could made the predictions for it. And at one end they didn't wanted to either. They seemed to have wanted to keep everything a secret for what it was as literally everything and anything could still be happening. A fact that they knew just all too well there and then.

~~~~

They all had packed their stuff into the saddlebags that were given by the royals, who also conjured the requested items towards the room they were in. Rainbow Dash had finally managed to return to the land of the wake again thanks to Twilight's magic. Which meant that finally the five friends had gone on board the train. They just waited for the massive engine to come to life and make its departure. Something about the whole trip seemed to be in the terms of bad memory, especially for Twilight. The events with the ancient unicorn king were still a little but too fresh in her mind.

Though the others were just happy that they could be visiting the place so far north in Equestria once again. Never could they just go up there and pay it a visit with the group they were. All of their schedules were walking like mad just for that single reason. Even though it was a thing that bummed them out, it was also a little something that they could all understand.

Each of the mares had made themselves comfortable upon the benches of the private cabin and giggled to one another while the memories were released. Times of peril from their own to memories of groups together. None of it stayed spared or safe. Luckily for Rainbow Dash, her liver had been fixed by the lunar princess to the best of her ability. Something she was truly more than thankful for. Whatever she had drunk with Pinkie Pie, it was strong stuff indeed.

“Y'all remember that time we went to Appleloosa? While we carried Bloomberg in the back of it? Now that was a trip to remember,” Applejack said before erupted out in a snicker. A snicker that actually managed to hide the whistling steam engine that came back to live to depart.

Yet where most of the ponies were chatting and laughing, Twilight had her forehoof placed against her chin and she looked over to the world outside. The wonderful station of Canterlot was a truly marvelous architectural landmark to look at. Though her thoughts just didn't seem to be leaving her home. The Golden Oak library was running without her. Twilight couldn't tell if Spike even understood one bit of the events that were going on.

No doubt on her mind spoke about the fact that he didn't knew what was going on. The images and sounds revealed upon that one night should have been more than enough to literally go even through his thick skull. Nonetheless it still looked like Twilight wasn't actually be able to calm herself down from the hurricane of worries.

It felt to her as if there was something bad about to happen sooner or later with her assistant. She could feel it in the wind that blew towards the station. Even in the cabin did she meant to have smelled it. Something was about to happen for certain. She just couldn't figure out whether it would be good or bad. Though when Spike would have been involved, it would have most likely been the latter. Which in return managed to frighten the unicorn a bit too much.

That was in fact the sole fact of which the unicorn was the most frightened of out of anything else. Compared to anything in the world that she could lose, that purple scared baby dragon was truly among the last things that she would let go. “I wish Spike was here,” Twilight carefully mumbled aloud, even unknown to herself.

It was Fluttershy who sat next to her. Shed gently shook her head towards the words before she gave the mulberry unicorn a tight hug. “He’s going to be fine, Twilight, just you wait. He’s a smart little dragon, now isn't he?” she said to her dear friend. Her lips curled themselves up into a smile that could prove her more than right.

“You’re right, Fluttershy,” Twilight returned to her before a small nuzzle upon the cheek was given. “He’s a smart little dragon indeed. Maybe, I shouldn’t be worrying about home for a bit and about what comes on the track.”

“That’s the spirit, Twi,” replied Applejack with a smile of her own. They all felt that the train finally went into motion. Their destination had been set and there wouldn't be a way back until the job itself was finally done. Even if it meant to get the stallion in a manner that seemed to be rather unorthodox. Though they allowed Fluttershy to persuade him over first with her personal charm.

~~~~

Rolling out of the station and over the switches to be placed upon the right track, the train had moved forth at a snail’s pace. Though none of the ponies seemed to be noticing one bit from it. All of them were just doing their own things to occupy the time. The journey would be a long and boring one towards the Frozen North. There would be more than enough time to actually bicker about something and someone along the way.

Though when the train did picked up the speed it was supposed to be driving on, it really did manage to pick up the speed it had. The massive engine caused the whole thing to be thundering down the rails like it was nothing. Though perhaps the creepiest thing of all was the fact that the track led the train almost directly past the woods of White Tails. That was a little something that caused the mares for the first time together be able to actually witness the very fog that seemed to be haunting every single pony to no end.

“So that’s White Tails, now ain't it?” Applejack asked while she glanced out of the window after some time. Twilight nodded as a confirmation to the thoughts. It indeed were the woods.

“Changed a lot since I was there last time. Before all of this began,” said Rainbow in a sad tone. She looked with almost teary eyes towards the sad scene outside. It was true that only Twilight seemed to have had the troubles up close but all the others could just feel it there and then.

“Let’s, let’s get some shuteye, shall we? It’s still a long way towards the Empire and we might be needing our sleep for the troubles tomorrow,” Twilight recommended to them. All of the mares actually gave a nod to the words and made themselves comfortable upon their places.

Applejack placed their hat over her eyes and leaned back against her seating. She laid down as if she laid against a tree with Pinkie Pie falling upon her shoulders. It wasn't something that she minded to happen as she sat in the middle of their bench. Rainbow on the other end choose another option and placed her head against the wall that separated them from the hall of the railway carriage.

Twilight released a small giggle as Fluttershy snuggled up against her as well as their bench. She couldn't be taking offense into it. Instead she released a small chuckle before she closed her eyes gently while the train continued to thunder down the track towards the Frozen North.

All five of them soon were peacefully asleep, or so they thought. For little did they knew the fact that the nightmarish impact of the unicorn even went that far as to getting them all on board of the train itself. As unbelievable as it seemed to be, they all caught faint flashes of the unicorn’s appearance behind their closed set of eyes.

Flashes that were soon to be forgotten. Like it was actually at all for them, but they were in fact powerful enough to cause each of them to shudder and shiver a little bit in the fears and frights of what they saw.

It wasn't anything they would be dealing with on their own and even if they could, wouldn't have been able to actually defeat it. Yet as they all had fallen asleep, faint whispers of inaudible words were released by all of the mares. Whispers that didn't seem to be meaning anything to the naked ear. Yet combined they all formed sentences of hatred once spewed by the unicorn herself.

The best part? None of the mares even knew what was going on when it happened.

~~~~

Through the rest of the trip did each of them woke up one by one while the train continued to thunder down the line towards the Crystal Empire. They all had enjoyed their slumber after receiving a rather rough start, the five of them felt as if they could be taking on the world. Which in a sense, they would be doing more and more after their friendship became tighter and tighter.

Though they didn't forget the things that they had seen within their dreams. “Ah don’t know ‘bout you girls, but Ah've seen her again and again in mah dreams. Not all the way, but the first part, that face of hers…” Applejack said to them. It was followed by shiver of true fright. “Whatever happened to Rares, whatever took control of her, it’s not good and it will never be unless we can stop it.”

“I get what you are saying here, Applejack. Not even I could have prepared myself for the things that I have witnessed just yet behind my eyes. Though the words that she spoke, those sentences about us leaving her, anypony an idea where that could have come from?” Twilight returned to each of them. Fluttershy was the last to have woken up. She rubbed her eyes with care before a yawn was released and found herself lying, snuggled up against the side of Twilight. “Morning sunshine,” was spoken against her. Fluttershy only released a squee with a blush.

The yellow pegasus scooted back up to her normal sitting position and tried everything to get the blush off of her cheeks. “S-Sorry Twilight,” yelped Fluttershy softly. She then turned her attention over to the hallway outside of their personal cabin.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy, we all have those moments now don’t we?” Twilight returned to her with a friendly chuckle. She gave a well-meant stroke through the mane of the mare. “But, as I was saying, anypony an idea?”

“Didn't Luna read out of the diary that Rares had nightmares just like that?” Rainbow answered. With that did all of the others looked into her direction. They looked at her as if she had spoken out a curse upon them. “What?! You are not going to tell me I was the only one listening to that part, now are you?”

“Well, uhm, maybe?” Pinkie giggled to herself.

“You never listened,” the cyan coated pegasus replied to her with a snarl.

“Hey! That’s not true! I heard that she talked about those nightmares as well,” Pinkie pleaded in her own defense on the matter. But Twilight just placed a hoof before her face and groaned deep to each of them. “Whoopsies, sorry.”

“Thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight brought out. Her head had raised itself again and the hoof was being lowered. “It doesn't matter who has listened and who hasn't, the important part is that we now know it. Rarity feared us, that we would leave her for somepony better, that’s a powerful dream to give somepony. Especially with how close we just happen to be with one another. Girls, this is got a whole lot tougher than I originally had anticipated and even could have though.”

In response to those words did all of the mares nodded their heads softly. They understood every last word that was spoken by the mulberry unicorn. “Uhm, Twilight, can I ask you something though?” Fluttershy then asked. She caught the sun setting on the other side of the train.

“Outside of the question you just asked? Sure,” the unicorn replied calm. She turned her attention to the pegasus. That calm expression in her eyes was only a deception to ease everypony.

“How long do you think it is going to be, before we are there?” she asked in a genuine concerned tone. “You see, I, I have an appointment with him tomorrow at noon.”

It was a fact that caused the mares to fall in shock. None of them had expected that it would be packing out in the way it did. The trip towards the Empire took a day to begin with. Yet it still depended on where the two would be meeting up and the time they would be. “Fluttershy, no offence but, couldn't you have told us that earlier?!” Twilight almost yelled towards the pegasus. She felt the gears in her head crushing and cracking to get everything back upon one timeline.

“S-S-Sorry,” the pegasus whispered before she scooted over to the other side of the bench. There she hid herself in both her mane and her tail. “I, I thought that the train would be faster to get us there Twilight. I never expected that, that it would be taking this long.”

Another massive facehoof was given by the unicorn before a groan of annoyance left her. “Don’t. None of you, just don’t, okay?” she spoke after she noted how Pinkie wanted to say something against her. But whatever would be coming out of her mouth would be everything except running in her favor. “Fluttershy, just tell me everything there is needing to be known, alright? After that, we will see how we sort this mess out.”

The day would have turned itself over into the night. After a long and tedious conversation were all of the details of the meeting finally known to the unicorn. Twilight managed to come up with a plan in her mind. A little plan that seemed to be packing out rather well for Fluttershy. It meant that she could still be on time for her meet. Though it was the lack of time that worried the unicorn the most of everything. They had been having delays for almost all of the way already. Twilight was genuinely scared that they would be missing perhaps the one opportunity that they had to get their friend back.

Thought the plan was known to the pegasus herself. She snuggled up against the cushions that occupied the benches of the seating. One way or the other would they be getting themselves into a whole lot more trouble than that they perhaps would have wanted and could have handled. But it all was to stop one thing and get another back for it. They had to be doing it no matter what.

With everypony already having fallen asleep in the cabin, Twilight was the only mare who was still up. She had released a deep sigh through her nostrils before her mind as put to rest as well. Everything had become just that little bit too much for her liking. Not to mention the sheer fact that that they were still hours away from the Empire. All of those matters that continued to grind themselves through her head. Though she made the wise decision to keep them right out of there and just go to sleep for the time being.

~~~~

Yet in the meantime and in the Golden Oak library was Spike just sitting upon the perfectly made up bed of Twilight Sparkle. He released a sigh through his mouth. Days had turned into weeks while he had to take care of himself. Everything seemed to be just so quiet with the unicorn gone. It was just quiet as nothing worked without her magic in the living tree.

Not that it was an actual fact that the baby dragon could be complaining about, even if he wanted. It did turn a bit into the home of a ghost due to the silence. Days had he waited for anything positive to be heard from both Twilight and her friends. Though all the letters that he got were as vague as ever when it came down to the princesses. It was something that caused the shivers to travel over his spine every single time a new one was received.

Even he had seen the image on the moon and heard the laughter inside of his head. It was something that terrified him more in his life then literally anything else he had gone through. For where others couldn't recognize the figure, Spike seemed to be realizing pretty well just who that figure happened to be. He instantly had recognized the figure as nopony else then his beloved crush, Rarity. Yet the time to send a message about it just wasn't there for him.

He couldn't even write the princesses about the things that he had seen and learned because all of the letters that he send, were returned to him straight away without even having been opened. “If that is going to be the manner we’re going to play it, I might as well throw myself out there and get some things done,” mumbled Spike to himself. He jumped off of the bed and wandered over to his basket. He was tired, the night had set in and the only thing he could think about was sleep.

Yet there was this sudden determination that got inside of his head. He would be going over to the woods of White Tails one way or the other and actually discover just what was going on there first hand. Literally first hand. Though the planning would be done carefully and he needs to have at least one pony with him that could actually help him in the matter.

The help of a pony who wanted to get Rarity back just as much as he needed was the thing that he required. “Sweetie Belle!” he whispered under his breath before snuggling up against the insides of the basket and placed the blankets over his body. Certain parts of the plan had been made and explained to himself. But there were still so many unknown variables. Variables that he would be getting behind when the time itself would finally be there and perhaps the two of them, stood before the gateway of White Tails.

~~~~

Back on the train had all of the ponies woken up from their restful night of sleep by the screeching brakes of the machine itself. The speed was reduced to nothing but a massive snail’s pace. The mares looked outside. Each of them knew what was going on but none spoke up the words. For they had arrived at the Empire and when they looked back to one another, made a sudden realization.

Each of them was in their crystalline form thanks to the shield that was cast around the city to keep the cold weather out. Which caused the lot of them to shine like gems found in the ground of Equestria. Not to mention that they almost could be seen through. “This magic, always had me wondered how it was created,” Twilight said to herself with a giggle. The mare then she looked up one of her hooves and smiled deeply. “But perhaps keep it a mystery for myself, for joy’s sake.”

Slowly did the train managed to dock itself upon the station. The moment that happened was Fluttershy getting it upon her hips. She seemed to have been late already for the meeting with the stallion and that was about one of the last things that she wanted to be. “Twilight, I, I am deeply sorry but, could you carry my luggage to the hotel? I, I really need to get going otherwise I’m too late. Please, please, please?” the pegasus mare asked, if not begged.

“Uhm, Fluttershy? If you didn't spoke so many words, I could have said yes almost straight away. But I’ll do that for you. Now go, go and get that stallion. You’re our only hope now, Fluttershy. Whether you like it or not,” replied Twilight to her. She then pointed to the door of the cabin. The pegasus herself released a thankful squee before she darted through the door. Fluttershy then rushed towards the first set of doors that led her straight towards the stallion.

Back inside of the cabin did Rainbow rose an eyebrow to the words that were spoken towards the mare. “You are our only hope? Really now, Twilight? Out of everything you could have said, you went with that?” she said against the unicorn. Talking like that made it sound like a bad line from a novel in her eyes.

“Oh shut it would you? She kinda is when you think about it,” countered Twilight.

“Suppose you’re right.”

“Anyway, get your stuff, we still got a little hike towards the hotel,” the unicorn said to them. Her horn charged itself up and packed both of the saddlebags of Fluttershy and herself. Only then she left the cabin in which they had spent countless hours.

Fluttershy was among of the first few ponies who got off of the train and onto the station. With her eyes did she looked at the landmarks visible. Quickly had she realized just where she happened to be in the Empire. It appeared much to her own luck that she happened to be pretty close to the cafe where they had made the appointment with one another. The pegasus released a deep sigh in relief before the sprint was drawn towards the exit of the station and unto the streets.

Once she arrived, the pegasus could just have looked over everything that there was to be seen. The clear blue skies, the gem carved buildings and not to mention, the crystalline ponies themselves. Yet out of everything that there was to be seen, there was just one place that she happened to be truly interested in. That little place she had visited only once before in her entire life.

Everything was set upon everything. Fluttershy galloped through the streets of the Empire with everything within her might. Huffs and puffs were being made while the wings fluttered around to give her even more of a speed bonus. Though she would never be on time for the appointment as the clocks in the Empire rung that noon hour in loudly. The play of bells in and of itself was something amazing to listen to. Fluttershy had become mesmerized by that for some reason.

Her ears perked themselves and twitched softly to each hit made by the bells. Songs known only to the Empire were released within them and every last one of them just sounded so joyful if not straight up amazing. Music of Equestria’s greatest composers turned into the music played with church bells. “Simply amazing,” Fluttershy whispered to herself after the sounds faded away again and the realization came through to her more and more.

She still had to find that one little place where they had said that they would be. The only problem was that Fluttershy happened to be in a rush. She had to find it as soon as possible before he would be leaving. The mare wandered and galloped around to get the sights in her eyes as they were not a mere two days ago.

The yellow, crystalline pegasus was about to give it up before she realized something. The mare then slowly trotted over to the edge of the street she was on. A deep exhale was being made through her mouth before the eyes opened themselves. With those green rimmed eyes of her, she looked over the square she stood on and finally caught the thing in her sights that was where she was looking for. All of the sudden was there a massive wave of relief that came over her.

With a massive and cute sounding squee had she made her way up to the place. Fluttershy saw the stallion already sitting down on the terrace with a cup of tea. She had arrived and he was still there. Two birds killed in one stone. Though the hardest part still had to come for the mare. Getting him so far as to join the their little band of ponies to take down the unicorn mare.

~~~~

“Hey Emerald,” Fluttershy spoke to him. She stood next to the table and looked at him with a smile. The stallion turned his attention over to the mare and smiled in return. He gestured her to sit down upon the chair opposing his. It was something that Fluttershy did with grace and thankfulness before she placed both of her forelegs upon the table and looked at him. “Excuse me the rather lateness of this, but, the train had a few delays. Just got off of it, actually.”

“It doesn't matter, you’re here and that’s the very thing that’s counting right?” Emerald returned to her before he called a waiter towards them. “Could we have two more tea and some cake of the house? You like apple pie, Fluttershy?” The pegasus herself was a little bit confused and taken by the words that were spoken to her. She managed to hear them right luckily and nodded to him. “Excellent, that will be all then.”

The waiter nodded to him before he made his departure again to prepare the order. Emerald Masquerade still had a couple questions of his own that he wanted to ask her. Some were burning upon his mind while others seemed to be able to wait. “So tell me, Fluttershy, you just arrived by the train, so I don’t take it you are going to disappear into thin air again like before?” he asked of her.

It was something that caused the mare to giggle a bit to herself while she looked over to emerald haired, earth pony stallion. Only to shake her head slowly from side to side. “No disappearing this time. At least not that I am aware of.” All of her usual shyness seemed to have gone like snow before the sun while she spoke to him. Though little did he knew –or anypony for that matter– that she was calling upon her courage like literally never before. Every last ounce that she had and could receive was being asked from her body. Just to make certain that she didn't seem to be so shy or nervous. It also helped that he eyed so relaxed, calm even.

“Perhaps, we should be getting to know one another a little bit more, before we take things further from here. You mind if I ask you a few personal questions? Of Course you may also return them straight back to me,” Emerald Masquerade spoke up towards her with a friendly smile.

“Go ahead and ask me what you like,” returned Fluttershy to him. She leaned back in her chair to get the nerves a bit further under control. Though she couldn't leave it to look at the crystalline building which was the cafe from time to time. She just wasn't used to the sheer beauty of the place.

“Right then,” the stallion stated. He almost came to business straight away. “Who are you really, and perhaps most important of them all, how did a mare like yourself discover where I am?”

It was a set of questions that took even Fluttershy by a massive surprise. Could it have been that the stallion truly had something to hide from the Manehatten underworld as was spoken to both Rainbow and Pinkie?

“Uhm, well, how, how do I say this…” Fluttershy began to stutter towards him. She couldn't be forming words at all anymore. All of that calmness seemed to have vanished just like that, replaced with something unknown to her. Something that terrified her.

“If this is about Rarity getting back to me, tell that wench that I am no longer interested in her. We both knew that things didn't work back then. We both swore upon it that we wouldn't be searching contact with one another, ever again. For all I care, she can sit with her broken heart. I know who you are, element of kindness, but you’re not getting to me,” Emerald spoke to her in a sudden, bitter tone. The stallion really wasn't interested in returning to Rarity as her coltfriend.

It were words that literal smacked in the face for Fluttershy time and time again. She just couldn't believe that a pony had such anger about Rarity stored into the body. Not to mention the fact that that anger was actually genuine.

“Excuse me for a moment,” the voice of the waiter echoed in their ears. He placed both slices of apple pie on the table only to have them followed up by the cups of tea. “May you enjoy it.” He made a small bow before them as the two of them gave him a thankful smile.

After the waiter had gone away, was it Fluttershy who snapped as a whole. Somepony dared to speak such foal words about her most treasured friend in the whole wide world. If there was one side nopony needed to be seeing from the pegasus, it certainly would have been her snapped side. “Now you listen to me, and you will be listening carefully because the words I’m about to say, either will make or break you as a figure! You got that?”

Even though Emerald didn't wanted to admit it openly, Fluttershy was a rather intimidating mare when all of the wires had been snapped. He was pushed into a rather tight corner without being able to get out that quick. The only thing that he could be doing, was to lean in a little bit and grant her the ability to speak her words. “Say what you need to,” he brought out to her.

“And that I will!” Fluttershy almost hissed towards him before she would be releasing all of her words towards him. “I don’t know if you have noticed, but back in Equestria have a lot of ponies simply gone missing. Even more have gone insane and I am quite certain that even you heard that insane laughter and saw the figure upon the moon a few days ago. So, stop, whining, against, me.”

More confusion was the thing that managed to hit the stallion. He too had seen the image and heard the laughter. “But, but what has to do that with me?! I can’t be helping you with such a lunatic on the loose! I’m a bloody accountant who had a bit of a debt in the Manehatten underworld for, ‘creative’ accounting. What has that thing, to do with it all?!” he pleaded for himself.

“Because that figure, was Rarity!” Fluttershy hissed even deeper. She also had leaned further in towards him, nopony else had to know what they were arguing about. But with the revelation split wide open to him, the mind of the stallion almost went numb.

It took him a few seconds to place each of the words in the right place. Never could have even imagined that such words would be spoken against him. “Okay, okay, if I do believe that, what part do you want me to play within it? You know I am capable of nearly nothing, right? I’m an earth pony for goodness sake. Unless you want me to mess up the accountancy of a dark mare, there isn’t much I’m good for,” returned Emerald to Fluttershy with massive doubts of his own.

“If you want to discover what your part into this is going to be, I suggest you’re coming with me to the hotel we stay. And hear us out,” the pegasus replied to him.

The stallion shook his head a little bit at her words as he found one thing not entirely adding up to everything. “Now hold just a minute here, who are ‘we’ here?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The remaining elements of harmony. But, can we go after this? I’ve been starving for a bit here,” Fluttershy said to him. She took the fork in her hoof and began to eat from the pie with a squee. Yet Emerald, he had not a clue of where he had gotten himself into, but if the words were true of what she spoke, he was in a big load of trouble.

The stallion took his cup of steaming tea and carefully set it to the lips before a sip was taken out of it. His eyes continued to look over Fluttershy with a thoughtful expression into them before a sigh was released. “Alright… I’m in. If I’m going to die anyway sooner or later, might as well give up this running and live for a bit,” he said to her. Though the regret was already audible within his voice.

24 To go back, or not to go back

While the night faded away into the light of the day, nopony was truly sure whether or not it was actually safe outside on the streets. With the events of the moon still fresh in their feeble mind would all of the ponies not even dare to actually come out of their houses until one thing revealed itself. One thing that caused all of the ponies to look up and sigh in utmost relief.

That very thing was nothing else then the golden orb that showed itself during the wonderful days. An object that was the very sun was needed to make the ponies feel safe again. Slowly did the streets began to crowd themselves again with the lives of many and all who were going towards their usual meetings and appointments. Something that didn't seem to be minded by all too many ponies.

With the skies that became more and more blue of coloring and not a single cloud that could be seen within them all, everything looked like it found its inner peace again after the events. But if that was only the truth on the matter. For nothing was what it seemed to be and even on that fantastic looking day, the horrors of White Tails were still more than ever present.

Yet in the Golden Oak library was Spike himself being awoken by the rays of light and groaned deep in his sleep. He didn't wanted to get out before all his systems kicked back into gear. That day was going to be the one that would be going down into the history books of perhaps not just himself, but a certain other pony as well.

The eyes opened themselves almost by force and the blankets were kicked from his body. There were deeds to be done, adventures to be had, words to be exchanged. He had to pay a certain family a visit. The baby dragon wanted to figure more about the facts of what happened with his beloved crush. And luckily for the dragon, he knew exactly where he could get those answers from.

Before he would be setting a foot in the outside world, Spike would have everything packed for the journey in a backpack. One that was kept a little bit hidden from any visitors that might be coming in. Not that he was expecting any to begin with. He never knew just when Twilight would have returned to the library, thus discovered his little plan to actually sneak out of the house and hit the road to both adventure and disbelief.

It was a deep-rooted fear that always got carried in the back of his head. A fear that caused him to pack almost without sound. Only the thing that were absolutely necessary for the trip he was about to make would be packed. Yet his eyes constantly glanced over to the hallway, awaiting her.

When the time was finally there, Spike closed the backpack. A smile was made by his lips and the young dragon turned over to one of the window to look out of it and see the world outside in the glory that it is. A glory which was going further than the eye could reach and a deep inhale was being taken by him to gather the courage for the deeds to be done. The plan was there, all that was left to be discovered, was his companion.

~~~~

Speaking about that, about an hour later was the dragon wandering over the road that led to the parental house of Rarity. With a bit of luck would all three of the family members still be there. And perhaps just one of them might have been able to help him with the problems he had.

He calmly walked over to the front door and gave a couple knocks upon it before starting to wait. “Magnum dear, could you get it please? I got my hooves full here,” the voice of a mare all of the sudden rang in his ears. A voice that originated from inside the house. The thought that at least two of the three were home was something that was a massive relief for Spike.

The dragon turned himself around and looked at the rising sun with a smile. His scales almost seemed to be reflecting the light off of them. The rays themselves caused these little tingles upon them. A little something that just made him smile so much. The day seemed to be perfect, what could possibly be going wrong with it?

When the door was finally opened for Spike, he saw a white coated stallion with a brown mustache looking down to him. In the first few seconds the eyes looked stern down upon the baby dragon, but then they turned a little bit more friendly and even gave him a smile. “Spike, what a surprise is this, can we help you with something?” he asked of him.

“If, I may come in please, I want to discuss a couple of things with, all of you,” replied Spike to the stallion in a polite manner. Magnum listened to the words and gave him a nod before he was allowed inside of the house. The dragon hadn't been there many times but every time he was there, there was always something new to be discovered. Much like Rarity did her entire family held a little secret or two.

Yet it didn't seem to be his place to actually question any of it, which he luckily didn't. The dragon was guided over to the living room where he sat down upon the couch and simply waited for the rest of the family to come. “Sweetie Belle? Could you come downstairs, please?” the voice of the mare rang again through the dragons ears. “We have a visitor.”

“Coming mom!” Sweetie yelled from out of her room. Before anypony knew it, she had galloped down the stairs. The filly came straight into the living room where she came almost to a screeching hold. Out of every pony she had expected to be there, it was the dragon. “Oh, hey Spike.”

“Hey Sweetie,” returned Spike with a small smile upon his face. The filly took place next to him. Not much after that, both Magnum and his wife entered the living room and sat down as well. The question of drinks was being asked, but none of them actually wanted to have any.

~~~~

“So Spike, what is it that you wanted to discuss with us?” Pearl asked before she calmly looked over to the dragon. Only to begin to wait for his answer. All of the sudden were all of the eyes aimed straight at him. All of the family members looked over to him with the questioning but also the wondering gaze of what he would be saying.

“Well,” the dragon started before a deep inhale was being made, “I, want to know more about Rarity. Anything, that could help me to find her again. Even though, I did let her go a long time already, I still need that...closure. If, if you understand what I mean.”

Both Magnum and Pearl nodded to his words. They understood each of them with the greatest of both care and respect for him. Though there was only one little problem and it was something addressed by Magnum. “Spike, if we had any leads upon her whereabouts or anything else to begin with, we would have gone out there and look for our little filly ourselves. Who knows what we could have found if we did that. Yet, there’s nothing that could even be guiding us over to a place. We got, nothing. Even we, are left in the dark, Spike. All we could do, was to accept the facts as they were presented to us and roll with that,” the stallion said to him with some difficulty.

All of the sudden was it Pearl who took over the words after Magnum released a deep sigh when he finished his. “It wasn't something we wanted to do, honestly. But it was the best that we could do. As horrifying as it sounds we, we couldn't do any better really. Our little filly, still out there... cold, alone, and yet here we are.”

The more she spoke her words, the harder it became for the mare to keep her tears together. Only when Magnum wrapped a leg around both of her shoulders and pulled her in closer, the tears began to stream over her cheeks. “I, I think it might be best of you leave us be Spike. Sweetie dear, could you let Spike out?”

They both understood the message almost immediately. They stood up to walk back to the hallway. Magnum began to comfort his wife and slowly lost the track of the real world. Something that would be working in the massive advantage of the filly and the baby dragon. For as they stood in the hallway, Sweetie made a couple signals with her hooves for him to come closer with his ears.

Uncertain of the things that she actually wanted, Spike did just what was asked of him and lowered her ears towards her. “White Tails woods, something just keeps chewing on me, that Rarity is there for some reason. I need to know it for certain, Spike,” whispered Sweetie Belle to him with a worried expression. In response did the dragon shook his head a couple of times. He couldn't believe it that there was actually a lead to her. Yet on the other side, stood the massive forest of madness.

“Library, this afternoon, bring you camping gear. I need to know the details of this as well. Two pairs of eyes work better than one, right?.” Those words had perhaps a little bit of a different reaction upon sweetie than that he had originally hoped. For she suddenly saw even whiter than normally.

“Y-You’re kidding right?! G-Going back there, a-after Scoots and A-Apple Bloom rushed out? I, I’m not so sure about it, Spike,” Sweetie whispered with a scared tone. Shortly after it had her worried eyes looked over to the direction of the living room. She had heard the sniffing of her mother and the comforting of her father. Perhaps she could be giving them all a bit of closure if she actually went there. It would be a massive undertaking of nothing but courage to go back there.

“Think it through, Sweetie, I’ll be waiting for you until three, after that I’m off to the woods,” the baby dragon whispered to her. He then opened the door and let himself out.

While the door closed itself again, Sweetie Belle lowered herself down on her hunches and sighed deep. “Oh the trouble I’ll always get myself in every single time,” she whispered before her head hung itself low. The thoughts began to rush through her mind. Thoughts about whether or not she would be returning to the place one more time.

~~~~

While Spike was walking down the path again to return to the library, there were the little bits of received information a great help to him in perhaps more than one way. Yet he wasn't unaware of the rumors either, he knew them perhaps better than anypony else. He could have felt it in time that Twilight was getting more and more frightened by the very woods she once loved to study.

And a scared Twilight Sparkle wasn't something that happened too often. The thoughts continued to grind themselves through his head. He tried to apply every last theory he had on the matter. Something that wasn't all too much to begin with either. His head turned itself up to the skies high above. They still had maintained their natural blue coloring and cloudless expression.

It was a little something, but a little something that eased his mind more than perhaps anything else on the matter. The weather was calm, which meant that he would have some good travel weather with him. It was the companion he was still worried about. Spike couldn't be certain that he had to watch over her from time to time. Sweetie was a smart little filly by any means and he could only pray upon the fact that she would be going with him.

After minutes of both thinking and wandering through town had Spike finally arrived at the library once again and he vanished inside to look at his gear again. Now that he knew just where he needed to be looking, everything that wasn't of true need was removed from the backpack. Something that made it lighter than before and he had to admit the fact that it felt a lot more pleasant upon his back.

With the final check-ups being completed was the wait on to see whether or not Sweetie Belle would have come with him on the trip. To join him in the quest to find out what happened to Rarity, or to get her back from anything that was holding her. The fires of passion were raging within his eyes, the baby dragon wanted to do everything he could to help her. Making him forget the final outcome of everything. One outcome he rather didn’t think about at all.

His mind to turn itself over into a different state of thinking. A state in which it would plan just such a lot. The gears and pistons inside of it began to turn and twist just so much, that everything he seemed to be doing, was illogical. “So that’s, how Twilight thinks? Never knew that before,” Spike muttered to himself. He took place in a chair with a map of White Tails laid out before him.

His green rimmed eyes spied all over the thing to find out the biggest vantage points but also made another little realization. The trip would be taking him three days at least. Two days’ worth of travel, while one day was left of the hike. Though if he could be lucky, he could have given himself a day and a half. Only if luck wanted to work with him though. A thing it usually didn't though.

But for the rest of the time were the plans being made up, the backpack checked time and time again while the hope of Twilight not returning home, became greater and greater. Of course he wanted her to get home at some point or another, but not while he was doing his little trek. Breaking the rules at the finest was the thing that he was busy with whether it was liked or not.

“Desperate times, ask for desperate measures, would Twilight always say,” Spike mumbled to himself. A deep sigh was released through his nostrils and the eyes closed themselves for a little bit. He had to rethink every single step of the way and prepare himself mentally for the trouble that was still to come. Though there wasn't a force available in the world that could actually prepare him for the dangers that awaited him within the borders of the forest.

Everything he was planning to do could be dubbed as highly insane and for the most part ponies who said that would be right. But with the events as they went down in history, it was just that little spark of utter insanity that was needed from every possible side, to bring it all to a good end. Or so he thought in his mind. With the minutes having crawled by, the map was folded up and he released a deep sigh through his nostrils once again. “So this, this is going to be it then Rarity. Hold on my dear, for I’m coming for you. To rescue you out of your torments, whatever they may be.”

~~~~

The nightmarish unicorn stood once again upon the balcony of the tower in the domain. She looked over the land as far as her eyes were allowed to. Her posture upon the tower was a sight that most of the nightmare forces had gotten used to by that point. Though inside the mind of the unicorn were the plans being made for something rather unusual and perhaps even unorthodox. With her history in fencing and every last move still known to her, she was thinking about leaving the more peaceful tactics behind her. She deemed it time that the tables would be turned around.

Nightmare Rarity found that it was time to switch to something a bit more powerful and intimidating to indulge the fear into her test subjects. She needed to have some kind of tool that she could be using, to shut them up without charging up her horn too much. It was an idea born into her own personal madness and something that she seemed to be loving herself. Nightmare Rarity almost exactly knew the thing that she needed in order to pull it off.

Not much later she could be found standing in the courtyard and had her eyes shut firm. The horn had charged itself up as if it would be hunting for gems. Some of the nightmare forces looked up and around to see whatever they saw was something that they really were seeing. None of them could actually believe it what she was doing. Yet none of them dared to interfere with the events to be taken place. Curiosity was born within all of them.

Mumbles of words from long forgotten times were whispered by the unicorn herself as she held her eyes firmly shut and the charge of her horn only seemed to be increasing itself in strength. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing. With her magic ready, it was time to execute the plan of attack. The first thing that had to be done was to release the charge. All of the magic would be set free into the world. The ground then began to crack and tear itself open before her hooves, into a near perfect hole.

It was the content inside of that very hole that was so much more worthy for the unicorn than anything else she had. Out of the hole would she have summoned tons of gems that ranged from simple amethyst to the toughest diamonds. All of it was taken straight out of the ground before the hole closed itself again with her magic. The unicorn began to smirk like a devil. She allowed all of the gems to swirl around her like they were in a vortex of some kind.

A vortex that was actually used to heat them up to the point of melting, if not magical bending. That was the thing she had to do in order to create her desired thing. She would have needed every last gem to be able to being worked with like it was clay. It took her a minute or two to get all of the gems that she needed that hot.

The sheer amount of heat that was irradiated by the gems was something that nothing could withstand. Even the nightmare forces that stood around her couldn't be standing too long in the physical realm before the feeling of being scorched came to them. Yet the queen herself seemed to be rather unaffected by any of the things. She even dare to guide the gems over to her head.

Right on top of her horn had an orb appeared in which each of the gems disappeared into. The forces could only guess just what it was that she was making for herself. Though some could already guess it by the cutting look in her eyes as they opened themselves again.

A couple agonizing seconds of silence came from the unicorn, moments in which literally anything could happen before she allowed the orb to just being blown up into a thousand little pieces of her own.

Then it was seen by the nightmare forces. They saw the very thing that she had been creating for herself. A massive sword came out of the ord. One that had the characteristics of both a katana and a cutlass. It was embedded with precious stones around both the hilt and the hoof guard. A true worth of beauty it appeared to be. Not to mention to sheath that it was placed it. Any of the leftover gems were used to create an oddly patterned sword-sheath. One that was placed upon the hips of the unicorn. With a wicked grin had she looked over to it. The sword would be drawn by her magic. Nightmare Rarity would have made a couple of her signature, lightning quick, moves to a couple imaginative targets before her.

She still had the muscle, she then had the weapon. All of the sudden had she become three times more dangerous than she already was. Nightmare Rarity had become a true force to be reckoned with. Not only skilled in magic, but also hoof-to-hoof combat. It couldn’t get any worse.

~~~~

When the clock finally hit three in the afternoon, Spike did indeed stood up from his chair and grabbed everything that he thought that he would be needing for the trip. His backpack was placed on his back and a few last checkups in the library were being made. All to make one hundred percent sure that all was well before he left, that he hadn’t forgotten anything.

A deep exhale was being made through his mouth before he made the dare to walk out of the door and into the afternoon sun. All of the scents and feels rushed straight into his body where they were processed and the realization of just how mad his plan was, came to him. Though it wasn't anything that caused him to shake his head nor to turn back around.

He was one thing that everypony had to give him credit for, that was the sheer fact that the little dragon was determined to his cause. He loved the unicorn perhaps more than anything. He would go through Tartarus and back if he had to, just to get back to her. Or to get her back.

It was a looming thought of the dragon that she was actually dragged into the hellish pits of the underworld from crimes bigger than she could ever be. Locked away in one of the circles without any form of getting out, except him. “Hold tight Rarity, I’m finally coming to get you,” he whispered to the skies with a confident tone. The eyes were turned over to the roads ahead and began to walk.

He hadn't even set ten steps from the locked library before that cracked voice echoed through the air which was calling his name. It was a tone and voice he knew all too well yet it still surprised him to hear it there and then. “Don’t tell me…” Spike whispered to himself before his body was being turned around and looked over into the direction of where the sounds came from.

Within his eyes he noticed the one thing he had never expected that day to see again. For galloping on the street with a set of matching saddlebags was nopony else then the little unicorn filly. “Sweetie Belle?!” the dragon explained before the two were literally face to face. “W-What are you doing here? You know it’s far too dangerous to go there right?” Even though he had purposed the offer himself, the doubts had managed to set into his head not long after he had left the house of Rarity’s parents. Spike could have almost slapped himself in the face for even proposing it to Sweetie.

He would have hit himself in the head there and then for his rather stupid actions, but didn’t. It wasn't something that he wanted to drag Sweetie Belle in, yet there she was. “But you said, it yourself,” the filly explained to him through her panting. At that moment he knew there wasn't any way that he could be talking himself out of there. Spike had to carry her along with the way. It took his brain a few seconds though, before he recalled the words spoken by her.

“Didn't you said that, you and the other Crusaders, had been there before?” Spike asked her. Almost in a manner to avoid her last spoken words with a big arch. In response Sweetie nodded to confirm the questions. “Then,” the dragon spoke before he felt his heart sinking to about his toes, “consider yourself hired aboard, Sweetie. We’re going to the woods of White Tails, now.”

The unicorn filly released a soft squee of happiness in response. The two of them began to walk into the direction of the forest. Even though he didn't want it, she could be his guide and lead them back to their original camping site. The place where the chewing feelings of the filly had been awoken in the first place. It may not have seemed like much, but anything was better than just nothing in that case. Spike felt he was finally getting somewhere after weeks of declining to search for his beloved crush.

It was also an expedition that hopefully would be having the benefit for the two parties as Sweetie finally could know what had happened to her sister all that time ago. They were completely left in the dark when it came down to the findings of the elements of harmony and the royals. It wasn't something done on a true purpose if lying but more that they couldn't be standing still by the facts of telling them.

They discovered so much on their own. Each news flash would become more shocking than the previous one.

The dragon and the filly just left Ponyville behind them for what it was. They were calmly walking in the sun of the afternoon over the dirt roads. Their eyes were peeled upon the roads that were stretching themselves ahead for miles and miles. The trek was one in which Spike kind of had made a wrong decision in left and right. He knew it was a long time to actually arrive there, but he had mistaking the fact that it would be taking him that long.

He was nearly exhausted when they reached the halfway point. The dragon lowered himself in the grass to catch up with his breath and panted a little bit. “What’s the matter, Spike?” Sweetie Belle asked when she turned around and saw him sitting there. Though the only response that she got out of him, were a few motions with his hands that he was dead and dead tired of it all. All that he needed, was just a few minutes of rest.

A bottle of water was placed upon the lips of the dragon and a couple of deep swallows were being made. His condition being a little bit out of shape was the main thing that caused him to be that tired. The bottle was closed off again and placed back in a side pocket of the backpack before he attempted to stand up again.

“Careful now,” said Sweetie to him. She saw him balancing on his left leg a bit before the right one was also set back upon the ground. “That was close, too close,” she then whispered to herself after a small sigh of relief. “Shall we go again?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. We might be getting there before nine if we keep up the pace,” Spike returned with a faint smile visible below his nose. The two would have continued along the path down to the woods. Though they would be walking in nothing but actual silence. It was true that they had a few conversations left and right, but those were more of the common things. Neither of them wanted to actually know just what they would actually be finding inside of the those borders.

It was a primal fear that was racing through their hearts, the fear of the unknown that caused them both to be on their guards as the came across the sights of the Everfree. The treeline stretched itself for miles and miles without end. Yet at the very end would the woods of White Tails actually begin. And with that, their terror and quest.

~~~~

“Pearl honey, have you seen Sweetie somewhere? She seemed to have just taken off without even leaving a note for us,” said Magnum said after he had walked down the stairs of the house. The stallion then proceeded into the living room where Pearl laid comfortably upon the couch, reading through some newspapers after her emotional breakdown about her oldest daughter.

The papers themselves were being lowered before the stallion’s eyes and she looked over the frame of her glasses. “I, I haven’t seen her actually,” she then replied to him after a couple seconds of thought. She folded the papers up again and removed the glasses from her eyes. Yet when she did that, there was something else that shot in her mind. Something that caused her to carefully hit herself upon the forehead. “Oh, how silly of me, she said she would off to the Acres. Apple Bloom invited both her and Scootaloo for a sleepover,” she said to him with a giggle.

Magnum walked up to her as she spoke her words and nodded to them with the greatest care in the world. Every last single word was brought over to his mind before a smile formed itself with his lips. “Well that’s a good revelation to hear if you ask me,” he spoke up before he gave his wife a small kiss upon the forehead and smiled to her. “Shall I make dinner tonight?”

“Oh, hmhmhm, if you like fine sir,” replied the mare with another giggle in her tone before their lips with one another for a soft but loving kiss.

The day itself would have turned itself over in the evening and after a rather romantic dinner by candlelight, both of the ponies had retreated to their bedroom and laid in bed. There they simply snuggled and cuddled up against one another while stroking carefully through the mane. The setting was set to romantic and they were a little playful with one another for certain. Though in the back of their heads did they just couldn't shake away their oldest daughter.

She always seemed to be there, lurking in the backs of their minds and in the faint hope of her finally returning to them was the thing they had hoped in for just so much. The thoughts were suppressed back into their skulls with every available force they had in their bodies. The last thing that they wanted to actually think about, was Rarity at the moment.

In order to break the string of thoughts did their lips searched for one another before a deep and loving kiss was being exchanged by the parents. A kiss that was taking its sweet time before being broken as both of the ponies looked one another into the eyes with a lovable expression.

“Goodnight honey pop,” Magnum whispered in one of Pearl’s ears. One last, small kiss was then returned upon her lips. Before the two would be knowing it, they both had fallen asleep and traveled down into a deep slumber. One that caused the two of them to have some rather pleasant dreams of times long gone. Of times long forgotten even.

~~~~

Both the filly and the baby dragon had seen the sun going down behind the hills. They would have been walking in the light of the moon itself by that point. Hours had they been going down the path and talking the courage required to one another in order to stay tough for the deeds that were about to be done or needed to happen. While Spike was more determined on finding just what happened to his crush, Sweetie Belle on the other end seemed to be taking it all a bit more slow and careful.

She was the one who remembered the horrors of the woods the best out of the two of them. The looks of that genuine fear inside of both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo their eyes, it wasn't something she would be joking about and with even if she wanted to be doing it. Every last bit of the trip, was calculated into her mind to degrees that she couldn't even think of herself.

“Spike, it’s off the path here if we want to go to our place from before,” Sweetie then spoke to him. They had arrived at intersection. An intersection that the fillies had never taken the manner it was meant to be though.

“You mean, going off if the light paths and into the darkness itself?” the dragon asked her with a genuine look of confusion. Not to mention a declaration that she was mad. Though the proof of her not being that, was given to him when the horn of the filly came to life. That emerald green colored aura around it gave of an almost harmonious rhythm to the dragon who then smiled upon it.

“Of course not silly, we still got this. Let’s go!” Sweetie then returned to him. Just like that were they off of the path. The pair continued their trek to the original place where the Crusaders had set up their camp.

Even with the light irradiated by Sweetie Belle’s horn, Spike still found himself frightened by something that not even he could tell what it was. Everywhere he looked, all of it just seemed to be wrong. More and more he got the feeling that they shouldn't have been there, that they should make a turn around and go back home.

It was only one of the mental barriers that the unicorn had set up. It caused a pony to feel uncomfortable which often would get them to leave. But she had forgotten just how strong a pony was who was determined to find something within those woods. But that was where the fog came in rather handy.

In the light of the aura did both the filly and dragon continued to walk at a general pacing towards the original camping site of the three fillies but seem to have kept themselves quite. They knew they were close to the woods as the trail of fog was already starting to build itself up. There wasn't any doubt in either of their mind actually, they were close enough to White Tails that they could actually see the fog building itself up. It would only be a matter of time before the wall would be just almost impenetrable to go through. “Look there,” Spike said all of the sudden. They had arrived to a small bay within the trees. “Could that be it?”

They had been walking through the darkness for so long with the faint light, that their eyes had actually adapted themselves right to it. A little something that was good for the two of them, as it didn't render them completely blind. Sure they had both the lights from the horn and the moon but that didn't said a whole lot. As those lights did cast a shadow and in the shadows could all of the monsters be hiding themselves from peeking eyes.

It even including the monsters of White Tails itself. That was just the very thing that caused both the dragon and the filly to have the shivers going down their spines. The sudden change from a warm night into a fridge was clearly felt by them. Something, if not somepony, didn't wanted to have them there. A message that had been received by the other two Crusaders.

Sweetie Belle looked up over to the bay before she gave a small nod to the dragon. “That was it yes, even has the fireplace still. You think you can..?” she asked towards Spike with a set of curious eyes.

“Light it on? Course I can do that,” replied Spike to her. He ran over to the place and prepared himself to shoot a flame towards it. The wood that was still piled up got ignited almost in an instant. The two sat down by the green, awakening fire. They still had to build up their tent but it was a little job that could be done in just about a minute or ten. With the light and warmth given to the both of them by the fires, they snuggled a little bit up against one. Sweetie released a soft yawn.

She was dead tired and he knew that fact all too well. He himself wasn't even one of much energy left either. But they had to stay awake just that little bit longer to get at least their sleeping bags out of the bags they carried with them. “Hey Spike?”

“Yes Sweetie?”

“You think we can sleep under the starry skies tonight?” she then asked him with a voice that seemed like she was dreaming a little bit already.

It was a question that hit him rather deep but it meant that he didn't had to do the effort to set up the tent for the two of them. “Yeah, I think we can be doing that yes,” the baby dragon replied to her with a smile. And the only thing he got in response, was a small squee from her.

The two of them were exhausted and didn't even wanted to set another step onto any other direction. Yet they still managed to get the sleeping bags out and snuggled into them before their eyes closed themselves. They would be leaving the realm of the wake quicker than they would have expected and fell deeply asleep on their spots.

While the flames continued to consume the woods, not a single creature dared to go near it. Everything just maintained its fair amount of distance away from the two of them. That was with the single exception of one little creature who stumbled upon them by accident.

That very creature was in fact something that gave a true lot of trouble for the both of them. The very fact that the creature that had found them was nothing else then a cloud of shadows. A cloud of shadows that stood under the reigning command of Nightmare Rarity herself. It looked calmly over the two beings as the urge to fill their minds with fears and frights was something that came up into it.

Though the plan itself wasn't executed for the simple fact that it wasn't its very place to be doing such a deed. What it did do however, was giving the location and the looks of the filly and baby dragon directly towards the mighty queen for further evaluation.

25 Of fillies, dragons and nightmares

While the filly and the dragon laid peacefully asleep, the cloud of shadows had dared to scoot itself more forward and towards them. It had a burning curiosity to know just whom and what they happened to be. It also was judging whether or not they could be forming any potential threat to the woods if not the domain.

It slithered forward like a snake over the ground without an actual aim. Though the targets were clear in sight. It would spy upon the two of them a little bit, read their minds if it wanted to and discover the secrets of just why the two of them happened to be there. Without a single sound actually made by it, did the force just appear like a pleasant breeze of wind in both of their faces. Something that caused a small smile upon the face of the dragon, as he was the first to be inspected.

Though the conclusion was early drawn that it was a baby dragon who laid there. But perhaps a baby dragon could be of actual usage to the queen. Raise it up like one of her own monsters of destruction. A valuable asset in the war that she would be fighting out soon enough. A soft hiss of satisfaction was gently released through the fibers of shadow before it turned over to the little filly. The attention was almost immediately drawn to her almost as if she was some sort of princess. Humble was how the force felt itself as it almost wanted to kneel before her.

The force itself was uncertain of why it did that. It didn't look like the current queen so why would it? Yet there were traces that made it seem like that little white unicorn filly was part of the royal ‘family’ in one way or the other. Nothing was what it seemed in the eyes of the nightmare force and to him, that supposed a massive threat to the domain.

There was just one thing that the force could be doing without getting into too much trouble and that was to establish a mental connection with the queen herself to give her the news. Whether or not she would be actually happy with it, was something that needed to be discovered through the gears of time itself.

Yet if it wanted to make the report, it better be doing it fast. Which was exactly what it did. Though the natural interference of the magic filled forest did cause a bit of trouble left and right. A one hundred percent safe mental linked bridge couldn't be formed. Which meant that the queen was unable to look straight through the cloud’s eyes to witness and judge for herself on the two of them. Instead he would have made a connection that only allowed them to speak to one another.

It still seemed to be better than floating back to the domain and thus risking the chance of the two being actually gone from the place. The risk was too great in the mind of the nightmare force and with pressure of its own was the mental bridge established from his side. All that could be done from there was to wait for the unicorn to accept the so called, call.

It went to a unicorn who in and of herself seemed to be rather busy with perfecting her fencing skills. She practiced against nightmare forces that were in the non-physical state of being. Though they had assumed the general form of ponies wanting to attack her. She wanted to test her newly made blade to the fullest extent. The queen appeared to have been training for hours already.

She panted deep to herself while a strand of sweat traveled down the side of her face, just behind her eyes. She was rusty within the skills, but a good set of hours training per day would be doing her miracles. Not to mention prevent her from becoming bored and thus torturing a shadow stallion or two. “Positions, and give me all you got,” wheezed Nightmare Rarity to them. She held the sword firmly in her magical hold and sliced it through the air just once.

The clouds of shadow nodded to her words before they indeed assumed their gotten positions once more and she glared at each of them with a cutting look. Any second then could the attack be released upon her. It was her mind who was rattling on about just about any manner of attacking.

There it then was after only mere seconds after she had announced it that the first cloud dared to charge straight at her. But it was impaled by the blade sooner than anything. Yet it did leave her defenseless for a moment or two which caused another one to attack her from the side. Only to receive a massive hoof to the muzzle. War was never clean when it came to battle and interference was always there but she managed to maintain the lady aspect of the job nicely enough.

With her mane done in a ponytail to prevent it from getting stuck in her eyes, the nightmarish unicorn ripped her blade out of the cloud before she pointed it over to the only remaining clouds with a smirk. “You seriously think, that a miserable foot soldier like yourself, is able to bring down a nightmare, who has torn down dozens of your comrades already? Hmpf, go ahead and try me,” Nightmare Rarity spoke in a realistic tone. She glared at the clouds with haunting eyes.

The only thing that the clouds could be doing was to go into an actual retreat. It didn't wanted to stay there anymore, it wanted to be left alone, almost like a real soldier in battle in the moment of time. With the leaving of the clouds had Nightmare Rarity released a wolfish smirk from her lips. She placed the sword back in the sheath and discharged her magic. The queen had proven her skills once again to herself. She would be able to use them in combat if the day would ever arrive.

Though it was just after she had turned herself around to return to the throne room that her mind opened itself up more to receive the ‘calls’ from her forces scattered across the forest. Including the one who had found Sweetie Belle and Spike. “Go ahead, report to me,” the dark queen spoke up before she disappeared into the doorway.

She walked with both calm and grace down the stairs while the descriptions of the both the unicorn and the dragon given to her. “Bah, that dragon just doesn't know when to stop. But perhaps his love for moi, can be used against him. Make sure he doesn't leave the site and guide him through the forest if he enters it at one point or another. Knowing my dear Spikey Wikey, he will most likely just dash in like a knight in shining armor,” the queen mumbled up to both herself and the force.

While the words came to an end, she had arrived in the throne room. The mare would have removed the belt to which the sword sheath was connected to. With a faint aura was it levitated into the air before it had to be placed down somewhere else. Then the description of Sweetie Belle was given to her in the fullest of details.

Almost in an instant was the sword dropped on the floor with a loud clatter that echoed multiple times through the room. Nightmare Rarity turned herself away from the throne. The horn had discharged itself almost abruptly before she started to wheeze to herself again. “Say, that, again?!” she almost shouted to the force in question.

A force who dared to repeat the description of the filly in full color.

Rage, anger, disappointment and a nerve breakdown were just some of the things that rushed through the queen her mind. She processed the words spoken to her to the best of her abilities. Everything she had heard just didn't make any sense to her. Why would her little sister ever come to the woods, especially after all that time? Thoughts rushed through her mind while she tried to figure out just what the exact reasoning behind everything.

“Why would they be using just those two, if they want to get to me? The signs are rather obvious in that department. That is, unless they have cloaked themselves invisible and are actually lying in wait for any of you, to come and get them. No, no, no, that’s not how they work,” the nightmarish unicorn mumbled up to herself. She tried to crack the code, understand the game.

Nightmare Rarity’s mind worked on levels that went so deep into the webs of conspiracies and plans of mass hysteria, that she sometimes missed the complete obvious picture. The picture of the fact that nothing could have been as complicated as she believed that it was. Her mind didn't allow her to see that it was just her little sister and a good friend of hers were trying to find the mare.

Growls and groans were released by the entity while she stood there. One foreleg was raised up as if she wanted to take a step. The mare knew that she had to be careful not to screw up. The opportunities given to her, were more than golden. She wanted the two of them, intact and alive. Unharmed and untouched. She knew just the way to get them like that as the unicorn's signature grin formed itself below the muzzle as she simply spoke the final words to the nightmare force.

“Give me your position and return to back to me,” the queen spoke to the creature. She charged up her horn again to pick up the sheath. After those words were spoken and the location given to her, the connection was severed between the two of them just like that.

~~~~

Back by the filly and the dragon had the cloud of shadow taken one last look upon the two of them before it spoke its own version of a good bye. Somewhere deep inside of their systems were all of the nightmares suddenly brought up to speed not only about the events that had happened. But also to the events as they were about to come. Their collective state of mind caused the information to be flowing freely through each of their brains. Resulting in all of them getting it, understanding it.

Perhaps it was a defect in the genetic structure of the creatures. But they were of an ancient design and the unicorn herself couldn't complain. They never ever even dared to speak against her again, all because of how she not only allowed it, but actually hunted down her own two commanders for their deeds and showed the events to every single force.

They were terrified of her to a certain degree. The same levels of fear they once gave to Nightmare Moon, they then gave to Rarity. Which she loved with pretty much every fiber of her twisted body and mind. One last look was given over the campsite, one last look was given to the green fires still going strong on the cloudless and starry night before the clouds of shadow turned themselves around. Only to disappear again among the darkness of the woods of White Tails.

The filly and the dragon were left at the peace of the night but none of them would be escaping the fate that was being played out for the both of them. Even if it meant that things possibly wouldn't be walking out in her favor. Sweetie Belle released a soft sigh while if she was cuddling her most beloved plushy. While Spike, Spike just cut down the entire forest with his snoring.

~~~~

The heavy steps of the queen could be heard coming up the stairs again. Most of the nightmare forces thought that she would be going to the courtyard, to drum each of them up for something. But those few who looked into her direction, just got a huff of mixed emotions before the unicorn disappeared again off of the face of the domain. She had gone through the door that would be leading her to the staircase of her home and ascended upon it.

“Sweetie Belle and Spike, the knight in shining armor and the little helper. Puhlease, don’t make me laugh they plan on actually being able to do that. But, I shall help them a little bit with their games by playing with them, instead of against them. Been an awful long time since I've last seen the two of them. Besides, I could always use another pet of some sorts,” Nightmare Rarity chuckled to herself before she entered her chambers again.

The eyes glanced with an almost stressed expression over her possessions for a moment. The unicorn continued to pass through the room and made her way over to the balcony. It became almost a clichéd look to see her standing upon the top of that balcony over and over. Though none of the forces could have complained about it. They didn't design the place in the first place. As shameful as it was, their queen was still an actual living being that needed light of the sun every now and then.

With her blueish green rimmed, cat-like eyes had she looked over the entire place covered in the light of the moon itself. A wonderful and rather mysterious sight played itself out before her very eyes. Though the very thing that she needed to find was something a bit smaller. Her eyes scanned the ground like those of a hawk before she finally discovered the thing that she was looking for.

Another grin gently formed itself below her muzzle as she kept on looking over to the area. An area where a small green light constantly seemed to be reflecting itself. “Oh, oh, oh, you two just make this too easy for me, but I love it just so much. Suppose I should be thanking you both here. As you two just made my job, a whole lot easier,” Nightmare Rarity said to herself. Without a warning had she began to charge up her horn.

More and more power collected itself by the horn. Her eyes kept themselves firm upon the light. The plans that were being created deep inside of her twisted mind were sickening to say the least. It was needed in her own eyes. She needed both her sister and Spike for something. Though only time would be able to tell just what her horn was preparing itself for.

The only indication of something that happened was when the blast was being fired. It almost roared like the biggest cannon from one of the royal airships. The blast got fired into the air before all the sounds died down with it. Nothing in the nearby surrounding even dared to take even a deep breath. All of the creatures of Everfree remained silent and all of the ponies in the inns on either side of White Tails were shocked out of their beds wondering what was going on.

~~~~

But the two who woke up first were both Sweetie Belle and Spike. They both woke up in the middle of the night, yelping loudly to themselves as they wondered and wanted to know just exactly what was going on. “S-Spike, did you hear that?” Sweetie Belle asked in a frightened tone as she looked over to the dragon.

“I heard that, but whatever it was… it must be something that came from the skies,” he returned to her before her eyes began to search through the skies themselves, hoping to find something if not anything to confirm his suspicion.

“How, how do you know that?” the unicorn questioned. She got out of her sleeping bag and walked over to him with a curious gaze in her eyes. Not to be mistaken with a tired one, as she also wore that one. “Twilight told you something, didn't she?”

The eyes of the dragon where finally lowered back to the very ground before he gave a nod to the unicorn. “Yes she did. Twilight explained to me once that when there were these rocks from outer space, and they enter Equestria, they get vaporized up or bounced right back into space. I think, we just heard rock being bounced back. Can’t see anything that seems like a meteorite or anything,” Spike explained to her, hoping it would have calmed her mind.

It were words that went far too much in the mind of the filly. Out of everything that she heard, she understood virtually nothing of that what he said. “So, we’re safe, that’s what you’re saying, right?” she repeated to herself aloud. The dragon looked at her and nodded to confirm the thoughts. Sweetie had walked up just far enough to sit down next to the sleeping bag of Spike and didn't seem that she wanted to actually leave his side any time soon.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was still genuine scared of the booming sound that woke her up. Something about it all just wasn't right in her mind. Though she couldn't pinpoint what it actually was. She never could have and possibly never would be able to do so.

“H-Hey Spike, uhm… mind if I, we, share, a bag?” Sweetie brought out in a way that didn't seemed to be that embarrassing to her. It caused the eyes of Spike to go wide eyed at it. He couldn't believe the words that she spoke to him just yet. It must have been the abrupt waking up that caused his ears to be still sleeping, or the shockwave of the impact or, or anything.

“What, what did you just say?” Spike asked her. He wanted to know whether or not she spoke the words the words he had heard. Though immediately after them, he regretted asking his own question. He had heard clearly what she said. Sweetie was terrified from the sounds and she was unable to repeat the question. It resulted down into just one thing that could be done and was the thing that was being done.

Spike scooted himself over to one side of his bag as far as he could before Sweetie Belle carefully slid into the opening that was being created. “Thanks,” the little unicorn said to him in a whisper. She would have snuggled up and closed her eyes with a rather loud yawn. Before the count of ten could be made had the filly fallen asleep again in a much more secured area. She had a dragon that would have protected her from everything.

Though that same dragon turned himself around and thus away from her. He would have closed his own eyes and began to sleep further as well. He couldn't believe that he laid in the same sleeping bag as Sweetie Belle. Though perhaps the biggest surprise was that they both actually fitted on one side of the thing. Luck by bad luck, he could be calling it.

While the two of them were sleeping once again, the actual origin of the boom, the burst of magic, would be doing its job to create the reality where the unicorn herself had thought about. Sooner or later would the revelations be made and the show could begin for real.

~~~~

A sinister laughter was the thing that the nightmarish unicorn released from the balcony. The horn had discharged itself. Smoke came off of it while the laughter died down into a simple grin for her. “Tomorrow, mark my words, shall become an interesting day for the both of you,” the entity said towards the skies. After that had she turned herself around and walked back inside of the chamber.

While the doors closed themselves behind her, Nightmare Rarity continued to walk over to her bed and released the ponytail out of her mane with the help of a hoof. A gentle shake or two were given by her and the model in which the mane used to hang in was assumed once again. One of her eyes got once again blocked off by the hair. Though she paid little to no attention to it. The unicorn herself allowed her slender body to gradually glide itself over the bed in the chamber.

Once she had been lying comfortable for her own feelings, the was horn charged up once again. The blankets would have been placed over her body in a calm manner. She required her sleep just like the two camping before the entrance of the woods in order to regain her strength to complete the deeds of the following day.

Though with the queen nicely tucked away under them, one of the savages would have merged with the physical realm again. It dared to lay next to the queen like an actual lapdog. If any other being had done that without her permission, there would only have been one massive punishment for that being. But since it was a savage –her personal guard and actual pets– a small pat over the head was given to it before the entity closed her eyes to get some sleep.

The head of the savage laid almost oddly peaceful upon the belly of the queen before the two of them entered a state of mind that caused them to dream. Dream of the nightmares that plagued their very thoughts day in and out. Nightmares that worked as the actual fuel for Rarity to continue her malice. Sickening it happened to be, but it was how the magic of fear actually worked.

Mumbles were made by the unicorn from ages ago, all spoken in a tone that only Rarity herself could be giving. Mumbles that were almost inaudible but spoke about nightmares she had been suffering for months. Even in her current form, she still was forced to live with the thoughts of her friends just leaving her like that. It was heartbreaking to say the least, but the perfect fuel for the magic she had carefully mastered as hers and hers alone.

~~~~

“Princess, it, is a bit of a crazy idea but, what if we use an airship from either of the air-navy?” Twilight Sparkle said while she and princess Luna were wandering through the castle hallways. The two had managed to accidentally met up with one another in the halls. Though it was all a massive disguise of where they were walking through. They were in the very psyche of Luna herself.

The lunar princess was also the master of dreams and she used that ability to communicate with the mulberry unicorn. It was all in the hope to find answers that they esperately needed. They had already discovered that Emerald Masquerade was willing to work with them even though he was kept a bit in the dark when it came to the actual plan. Perhaps their meeting wasn't so accidental as it first had appeared to be.

Luna released a deep sigh in response while they continued their gentle walk through the halls. “While the idea seems to be a bit obvious, don’t you think that she also thought of that? Most likely she has anti-airship cannons ready to fire. If she doesn't do it herself, that is. This very night, just moments before I merged both our dreams together, there was this loud cannon salvo that originated from the woods. I can only think of her being that much of a showoff,” Luna explained.

“But, there must be something that we can be doing, right?” Twilight asked further after she had carefully listened to the words. Desperation wasn't an emotion that she felt often, but when she did it, it had good reasons for it. The loss of a friend was the thing that stood at stake there. Twilight wanted to do everything in her might to make sure that she would get her friend back, in one piece.

Luna on the other end released a simple groan. She was far from being in the mood to continue the conversation. Yet she seemed to be managing her cool pretty well against the studious unicorn. “It’s going to be a lost cause anyway, no ships nor cities are even allowed to fly over the Everfree and White Tails. It’s a rectangular shape of doom when it comes down to it. Many airships have been lost that way. Rumors even went so far that a hydra bigger than any of them, actually jumped out of the marshlands and used all seven necks to cleave straight through the woods of the vessel, taking it down with crew and all. A sea monster on land,” the princess spoke further.

That were a set of words that scared Twilight a whole lot more than she originally would have thought they would. She had expected some kind of resistance in the woods that lived a life on their own, but in such a manner as Luna spoke had she never even seen coming with all of her own wisdom. “But, but they are just rumors, right?” the unicorn then asked with a gulp in her voice.

The lunar princess wanted to speak the truth to the mare. Though she also had to cope with a lie to keep the unicorn safe. It was a battle between the terrible truth and the wonderful lie. The world just wasn't as black and white as they had always shown it to the land. Instead it was this massive mixture of gray that kept them all alive to that day.

“No, no they aren't just rumors. I have seen it, that very hydra with my own eyes among the wreck deep in the woods of Everfree. I wish they were just rumors, but no ship is allowed to fly over there since that incident,” Luna then replied. She seemed to have emptied her heart and remembered the scene like it was the day before. The terrible smell of burned timber, the rotting stench of the bodies in the water mixed with the already unpleasant smells of the swamp. Not to mention that distinct scent of the hydra itself. All of it combined into a horrid scene.

Twilight did a small step to the side in order to give the princess some space though she was getting frightened as well. She had never expected that the rumors were actually the reality of the situation. Their job had become a whole lot more difficult for certain. “I, I’ll not tell the girls about this. For all they know, we are still going to walk from the nearest train station to the woods again.”

“Means you’ll be coming back to Ponyville. Tis the nearest station by those dreaded woods after all. But Twilight, I think it is better that our conversation is going to be ending here. You need your sleep more than ever and I, I have some arrangements to make before everything is going to Tartarus and beyond thanks to everything,” said Luna just before her horn charged itself up. The lunar princess wanted to break the connection of the two dreams.

“I understand princess, good luck with your arrangements,” Twilight replied to her. The mare braced herself for the rupture to come. Luna ascended into the skies before she disappeared almost completely. “Good luck to us all, with this mess” the unicorn whispered before she looked out of one of the castle’s windows and sighed deeply. The sights looked so peaceful with the small vortexes of pages from books and scrolls. A thing she always saw in her dreams.

~~~~

“What, did you say to her, sister?” the voice of Celestia pierced through the ears of Luna more than any other sound. She slowly came back to her knowledge and that was the first thing she head. “You haven’t told her anything we agreed to not speak about, right?”

Luna on the other end just released a growl towards her older sister. Then the eyes were opened again and they looked just tired. The glance that she gave the white coated alicorn was something that caused her to become a grumpy old mare. One of her forehooves was brought over to her forehead and rubbed it with some care.

Celestia had begun to pace up and down on the spot she stood still on. The mare kept on looking to her sister as if Nightmare Moon could be coming back any second. She didn't seem like the kind princess the land had always known her as in that very moment. Instead they would be seeing a tyrant who wouldn't make any exception to send another being to the moon, if it had to.

“I kept my mouth shut about this, sisterly dear,” replied Luna in a mocking tone. She stood up from the throne and calmly began to walk down the steps of it. “But you remember that no-flight policy over White Tails and Everfree right?”

“How, how could I have forgotten that?” the alicorn of the day replied to her. She came to a standstill and her tone filled itself with worries to come and go. Nothing in her mind could have been able to just make her forget the terror of the single day they both had been witnessed the scene. But it wasn't just going to be a bad memory that the younger sister would have brought up. And therefore, almost in an instant did the eyes of the princess turn themselves over to Luna with an expression not seen in a long time. “What are you planning, in that sickened head of yours!” Celestia spewed up towards Luna. She wanted to know the finer details of her little sister’s plans.

“Let’s say, that the pride of the air-navy shall be sailing again over the woods. I want to see, if she actually has those kind of spells ready to be blasted right upon an airship and thus make it crash down into the woods,” answered Luna with a confident tone.

“And you are willing to just let a captain and crew to die, while you watch from the stern of the Crescent Moon?! I won’t allow you to do this Luna. I will let you do a lot, but that is going too far!” Celestia almost bellowed in response. She only got more angrier as more spots were revealed of the plan. She couldn’t allow her sister to do such stupid things, not in a million years.

“Almost right, but still missing out the obvious. And try me,” Luna returned in a sharp tone. She walked right past her sister and left the throne room. She then left a Celestia with more questions than answer to take a seating upon the throne and announce the day to begin again.

~~~~

While the sun rose itself calm and beautiful to the world from the east, both the filly and the dragon woke up almost simultaneously. They looked into one another’s eyes for a moment. They seemed to have forgotten the fact that they actually shared such a bag with one another and they both released a deep yelp of terror before leaving the thing.

The both of them stuck out their tongues and wiped it as if they were trying to get any dirt or filth off of it that could be caused by giving one another a kiss or something. “We didn't, you know?” Sweetie asked before she spotted the little stream again.

“I don’t, think we did,” replied Spike to her before the filly darted off again. “Fillies,” the baby dragon added. He then released a small sigh and watched over her. He saw how Sweetie lowered herself into the stream and began to drink a bit of the waters before she spat it out again.

Of course she never drank it but instead she used it to clean her mouth a bit just to be sure that nothing had actually happened between the two of them. Though she was there and the opportunity was taken to wash her face a little bit as well as basically prepare herself for the events to come. Not to mention the fact that Spike began to make some breakfast for the two of them.

It was a simple breakfast that the two had consumed together. Though that didn't matter to them. They were just having fun like a pair of good friends would have and always should have. They shared laughs and memories to one another. Some of them may or may not have been a bit embarrassing for the ponies mentioned in them, but they didn’t care in the moment.

They both had their cups of tea and leaned back to watch the cloudless skies above them. Everything seemed to be just a perfect day all around for the two of them. If it weren't for the fact that they still needed to go into the woods. Though it was Sweetie Belle who was the first after a few minutes that lowered her head again from the clouds up high and looked over to Spike, who sat with his back to the woods.

Sooner than anything had she actually looked past him and tilted her head to one side to get something in her view. “Uh, Sweetie? You alright?” the dragon asked after he had turned his head down as well. He stared a little bit into the green rimmed eyes of the filly to see if everything was alright. Though a verbal response he didn't seem to be getting from her. Instead had she just pointed to something behind him that she was actually looking at.

Confusion was the thing that struck the baby dragon more than anything outside of fear. Was she pointing to a creature of the woods that stared at them as its breakfast? A gulp was released from the purple scaled creature before he calmly dared to turn himself around and witness the scene for himself.

His very own eyes began to dart around to see where the creature of his horrors could be hiding. Only then came the realization. He wasn't looking for a creature of old that was lurking somewhere to get him. Instead they were granted some form of access to the woods. The eyes of both Spike and Sweetie Belle were looking right into a tunnel that had been carved out in the fog.

“That, wasn't there five minutes ago. But saves us a trip to the asylum,” mumbled Spike to himself. He turned himself back over to Sweetie Belle and smiled to her. “You ready to find out what happened to Rarity?”

Even though the scenes already looked spooky for her, the filly nodded as she knew that Spike would be standing on her side at all times. A deep exhale was released through her mouth as she gathered her courage and gave a nod. “Yeah, I’m ready. It’s now or never.”

~~~~

Minutes later and the two had been finding themselves hidden deep within the tunnel of fog. With their backpacks and saddlebags strapped around their sides and backs had the two beings wandered calmly through the tunnel that was carved through the fog. Neither of the two knew where exactly it would be leading them. They both knew it would be to the very place where Rarity was held as a captive of some sort.

Both Sweetie Belle and Spike had to admit that whomever created the tunnel was expecting them. Which meant that they were extra careful to not go bashing through the sides of the thing. But Spike couldn't resist himself to every so often stick a claw through the side and watch the blue color shot forward. It would travel over his hand like lightning, but without the tingles. The little unicorn had not a clue of why exactly he would be doing such a thing, but she imagined it would as some kind of way finder.

Perhaps she didn't even wanted to know it. The sync of the beating hearts could be heard within her ears once again. They were getting closer and closer to the source of it and the filly could feel it. It was a feeling that made her utmost uncomfortable. Her head quickly turned itself over to her back and saw that the way was still there. If she wanted, she could just leg it and never return.

Or Sweetie could face it, and see the thing that her sister had become. It was a tough decision on which she couldn't be giving the answer on just yet. Not yet and it wouldn't be for a long time to come.

“Hey Spike, how much further do you think that it is?” Sweetie Belle eventually asked him. She wanted to know certain things. Her green rimmed eyes kept themselves darting over each of the sides of the tunnel. Even though neither of the two actually witnessed the effects of the fog it usually had on ponies, they both felt themselves really uncomfortable when it came down to it.

Neither of them could explain it, but perhaps it was the fog had a stranger effect than the queen could have thought it would be having on them. “I have no idea Sweetie, we could have gone in circles for all I know by now.” Spike replied before he got something within his eyes. Something that caused him to run a little bit before coming down to a standstill.

Out of everything he had expected to be seeing that day, the thing that had entered his eyes was not one of them. He was looking straight at the entrance of domain carved out of dark crystal. A domain that belonged to the dark mistress herself. With the only exception being the fact that it seemed to be completely abandoned and lifeless. “Impossible,” he whispered to himself just before the unicorn stood next to him.

Sweetie Belle looked over the scene with a pair of wide eyes. The beating of the hearts became even more intense and louder. Sounds that echoed like drums in her head that frightened her more than anything. She couldn't go further, she didn't wanted to go further. She wanted her sister oh so badly for certain, but not at the prince she thought she would end up paying for it.

“I, I can’t do this. I can’t go inside of there, S-Spike, can we go back please? I, I really don’t want to be here. This place alone just, gives me the creeps. Okay, thanks, bye!” Before Spike could even say a word, the unicorn’s fight or flight reflection had chosen for flight. She just darted back like an arrow through the maze of the tunnel. In just a second was he all on his own again.

“W-What?” Spike said to himself. He started to look for the filly with a blank stare in his eyes. Though only then he realized the very thing that she had been doing to him and sighed deep in response. “Great, so it’s just going to be me.”

His eyes looked up to the immense gateway and a deep sigh was released through his mouth as he kept on standing there for a minute or two. Spike would have said his prayers in silence while looking at the domain of the dark queen herself. He would be going in, no matter what.

26 Facing the unbelievable

Sweetie Belle had bailed out on him before they had even found anything, it seemed like trouble in the eyes of Spike. He was uncertain whether or not he himself wanted or even should continue through the gate. Something told him, especially in the seconds after the filly’s departure, that something within that place was everything but right. But his love made him almost blind.

He wanted to find Rarity just so desperately and he was having an actual chance to be doing it within those very walls. His beloved crush was inside of there, somewhere captured by a force unknown to both himself and Sweetie Belle. Perhaps even to most of the land. Though the danger would never had been avoided. “Wish you were still here, Sweetie, we would have made a great pair and amazing reunion,” Spike mumbled to himself. He turned himself around to witness the tunnel of fog once more. That eerie looking tunnel he had travelled through before.

Not a single cloud had actually moved itself to alter the state of the thing. If he wanted, he could have just started walking and thus would have walked away from everything. Though he was that close to finding the horrifying answers of everything. But somehow he couldn't leave her alone. Prayers were said and done before he finally turned himself back around and looked over to the open front gate of the domain.

“How could such a structure be hidden from everything?” he mumbled to himself before daring to take a step closer. Then another one, before finally setting his third and final one. After his foot then had set itself against the ground, he was within the grasp of the domain. The ground began to tremble below his very feet while the magic that contained the fog barrier began to vanish.

Spike quickly turned himself around and noticed the changes as they happened. His eyes had gone wide once again as he wanted to flee but there was nothing to flee towards other than the through the gates. “No, no, no, no!” he called out as he wanted to rush through the dreaded reformatted fog, but then recalled the whispers and rumors. “Turn around, face your fears, and find Rarity,” the green spiked dragon bravely told to himself. He released a deep exhale through his mouth while gathering the courage. It was the only thing that he could be doing in his mind to actually find his beloved pony. Even though he knew it was stupid beyond belief.

~~~~

In the meantime and on the other end of the spectrum had Sweetie Belle finally returned to the campsite and she looked with a set of wide eyes as well to the disappearing tunnel of fog. She couldn't believe that she had left Spike there just to let him be judged by the words of fate itself. “No, no, no! This can’t be happening, this can’t be!” she yelled up to herself. She kicked her legs again in gear and blindly charged right into the fog.

Only to pull upon the brakes harder than ever before she was surrounded by the stuff. Deep pants for her dear little life were released over and over again. The filly wanted to do something, anything to help Spike. Though the fog was also starting to get her in its grasp. The heartbeat that she heard within her ears began to weaken itself until nothing was to be heard. The secondary beat seemed to have died down and the filly shook her head violently. Desperate wouldn’t even cover it.

She couldn't believe that it was gone. Every last fiber of her little body just resisted to believe the facts as they seemed to have played out before her. Her sister who was thought to be alive for such a long time had actually died before she could even manage to visit her. Heartbroken and devastated was the manner how Sweetie felt herself before she took a few steps backwards with tears in her eyes.

The little filly just couldn't and wouldn't let herself believe that her sister had been killed by something or died of some other cause. Nothing in her body wanted to believe that. Urges to just rush straight back into the forest were made even up to the point of her setting a step left and right to do it. Yet the eventual result always remained the same which was that she stayed firmly put upon the ground.

“Spike, I’m so, so sorry that I left you there and then. Please be okay,” whimpered Sweetie to herself. She then dropped her head and closed her eyes to cry in silence. She wanted to help the baby dragon just so much, but there was nothing that she could be doing to do just that. She had left him over to fate and would never discover just what had happened to her beloved bigger sister.

For minutes she stood there, crying her eyes out in silence. Though the thoughts continued to stream through her head. She could have found closure on Rarity’s chapter in her life, even if it meant that it wasn't the greatest of endings whatsoever.

Yet through the passage of time had the filly looked up again to the fog covered woods. She even began to take really careful steps backwards from it. The last thing that she would have wanted, was for herself to actually get consumed by it and gone mad because of it. She returned to their little campsite and started to pack not only her own things, but Spike’s things as well.

The plan that was being made in her head, would have had her to wait for hours to come on the arrival of the dragon before she would return back home and truly, just leave him alone. “There’s one more thing I can try to help,” Sweetie whispered to herself. Her eyes glanced up, into the skies with hope. With their crystal clear blue was the only opportunity that she had to send a beam into the skies that hopefully could be seen by him.

Sweetie herself was rather inexperienced when it came down to magic, but she had learned enough to cast a small beam of her own magic into the air. Hopefully high enough to let Spike know that she was okay. And pray for a return signal.

The filly looked around before she saw a big hill where she could be standing upon and rushed over to it. “Hope this works well enough,” Sweetie said to herself just before she reached the top. Her body had turned itself over to the dreaded woods. Though she never seemed to have been able to look over the tree tops themselves. Sweetie took a couple of deep breaths before she rose up on her hind legs. The filly allowed the horn to collect the magic she needed.

The green coated aura surrounded the horn while the white filly closed her eyes firm. One wrong motion and the entire spell would be cancelled by her body. The lessons of both Rarity and Twilight were recalled while the horn itself was pointed upon towards the skies high.

With one last and deep exhale did Sweetie Belle release the charge of magic into the skies like a piece of fireworks. Though perhaps the most interesting fact had to be that even in the clear sunlight, it shone as bright as it would at night. The eyes of the young filly opened themselves again as she smiled upon the deed before she looked over the woods again.

She wanted to see the one thing that could confirm that the dragon was still okay. Her green rimmed eyes were looking for the green flame that may or may not be shot into the air by him. Seconds she continued to look as the green magic had turned itself into a flare that gently floated down back to the lands.

~~~~

In the depths of the forest stood Spike still before the entrance of the place. He froze in fear when he heard the shot being fired as a soft thump. Though his eyes caught the rather mesmerizing sights of the flare. A massive sense of relief was the emotion that filled him as he then knew that she was okay. Yet then came the problem of returning that same signal that he was just that.

His head looked over to the skies where he saw gaps through the fog and smiled. A deep inhale was taken by the baby dragon and within his throat, the green color of his flames could be seen coming. It was true that he had a magical breath of fire that could be used to send all sorts of messages with, and that time wouldn't be any exception. Though instead of sending a letter with it, he planned on doing something a bit more unexpected.

A column of green fire was sent up from the mouth through the fog and high above the forest. Spike placed almost all of his efforts into the message of fire that he would be sending to her. He could only hope that her eyes would be able to have seen it.

~~~~

On the hill had Sweetie indeed caught the fires rising for the forest and she felt another big weight falling off of her shoulders. There was just one little troublemaker that caused her to tilt her head to one side. Instead of it just being a shot of flames, the flames actually began to write something high in the skies. Something that caused her to tilt her head to one side.

Her eyes tried to read the letters in the burning flames. It was a little bit harder than she could have expected it to be. Her little mind tried its absolute best to get the words he was saying before the bells chimed loud and clear inside of her head. Suddenly she knew almost exactly what he wrote there and then.

With a smile on her face had she collected her own mind once again to release two more charges almost immediately after one another. It didn't matter who one were or where one was from, when communicating with such indirect speech, two bursts of magic into the air like Sweetie prepared to be doing always meant that the message had come through.

Though it did mean that she left one of her dearest friends on the woods to either go mad or make the discovery of a lifetime. It would be devastating for her to tell it to her parents, even to Twilight if she had to. If, that mare was already home by the time she would have been of course. But those were worries for later as the magic once again collected itself around the horn of the filly.

A mere minute after the message of the dragon had left the skies, a thing that was a true agonizing minute for the both of them, would Sweetie have fired both of the bolts of magic from her horn and into the skies. She could only hope that he would have been able to either see or hear them, if not both. That was all that she could have done in the moment.

~~~~

Back in the forest had Spike heard the two little booms and thuds almost directly after one another and smiled towards that skies. “Thank you,” he spoke up in a humble sounding tone. A tone that was actually meant for one of the dragon goddesses that supposedly lived in the skies above them. He knew Sweetie got the message and knew that she would be returning home and not waiting for him.

Though he had made peace with just that actually. It seemed completely insane for his mind to even consider such a thing to happen, if not allow it too. He was the boss of his own body by a mixture of both his brain and heart. And not just the brain or the heart, as many ponies lived their lives. Though sometimes that wasn't really showed by him.

“Right then, great big crystal structure in the middle of a haunted forest. ...What could possible go wrong?” he mumbled to himself as he looked over to the gates one more time. Even though the thought of Sweetie leaving in one piece was a thought that calmed him down, he still was anxious to enter through the doorway. Something about the whole place didn't feel right to his very core. It appeared so inviting, yet so haunting at the same time.

Who ever happened live there, would better be having a good reason for capturing Rarity the way it had done. The little dragon was getting more furious about it, the longer he stared towards the courtyard. If he only knew just who actually ran the show there and then.

His green rimmed eyes looked back down to the gateway and he released a deep exhale from his mouth. There was only one way in which he could be entering the place and that was through it. But the element of surprise was gone, if not never actually had to begin with. If anything in that place still didn't knew he was standing there, they must have just gotten out of a coma or something.

With the greatest of care in the world did Spike take a step into the domain before another then followed with just as much care to it. Slowly he kicked the both of his legs into the higher gears and began to walk with a calm pace through the courtyard itself. Even though he showed himself as calm, every last fiber within his body was just pointing towards the obvious. Spike the dragon was terrified of moving through the domain.

The fear for the place and the fear for the unknown were two things that did manage to get a massive hold of him. A hold that wasn't released that quickly either. His eyes darted around the place in the faint hope to see some kind of shape that he would be recognizing. But all of it just worked right up against him. There was nothing.

Yet the feeling of being watched managed to crawl its way up from his very soul. Almost as if hundred pairs of eyes just looked at him, haunting him to no end. But every single time that he turned himself around to face any ‘attackers’, there wasn't anything to be witnessed. Though perhaps the most interesting part of the entire operation had to be the single fact that the walls seemed to be talking to him. Faint whispers of ancient languages were heard as if they had been carried with the wind, through time itself.

“What in the name of..?” Spike whispered to himself all of the sudden. He kept on turning himself around and around in the place while his eyes looked at the walls to make things certain. He couldn't believe it that there were creatures hidden inside of it. It wasn't even the first thought that raced through his mind. The first one actually happened to be a little something along the lines of how long the structure must have been there, to carry such old voices with it. He didn't even realize he was doing just that, as it all happened in his sub consciousness. The only place within his very own mind where he had little to no control over.

His legs had started to carry him over to the a portion of the wall that seemed to be rather unusual to anypony who came across it. The little dragon placed his claw against it before he blinked a couple of times. Dragons always had a strong connection to gems in general. But Spike was one of the rare crystal-devourers, a species of dragons who had the connection to the gems quicker than Rarity could have possibly been finding them.

His claw began to almost stroke the dark crystal of the wall. The dragon felt a massive cold shiver that went down his spine. Something about the certain type of gem that had been incorporated within the structure spooked him. “This isn't possible. Not even, not even Sombra could have made this!” Spike exclaimed to himself. He removed his hand off of the wall and looked at it from all the possible sides. It just didn't make any sense to a dragon like himself, why such a dangerous type of crystal would be used to build something with it.

“Unless...” Without a warning had he turned himself around to face the exit of the domain and shook his head a couple of times. “Oh no, no, no, this isn't happening!” The legs of the dragon carried him over to the exit where he was faced with the fog once again. “Anything, is better than getting poisoned by one of those things!” Spike yelled to himself as he looked all over the place to find some sort of an opening.

The gems that were being used to create the domain were actually fueled with the dark magic of the unicorn. Which in return would have been deadly to the Devourers. It was one of the biggest defense mechanism that the domain had against that very type of dragons. They would just fly over the place and take one deep sniff before that intoxicated air filled their nostrils. Which then caused them to break their course and look for other things like a crystal mine to get their dinner.

But with Spike still being a baby, the scent of the gems couldn't penetrate his nose yet. Though he knew more than enough to know that he shouldn't be eating a single gem from the entire place. He stood before the exit and was looking for a way out with desperation filling his eyes. There was something that managed to catch his attention and had made him turn around slowly.

In his eyes he caused the three doorways that were leading to three distinct places within the domain. But something in his burning heart called out towards the middle one. The one that would be leading him towards the staircase and then up into the tower itself. His green rimmed eyes followed up the structure. Finally they stood still at the top of the thing and he released a deep sigh.

“Don’t tell me this is going to be as in those old ponytale’s right? Princess locked in the tower by a mighty creature, no? Yeah, I thought so,” the baby dragon mumbled to himself. The courage sunk towards his toes. He wanted to have done everything, except going up there into that tower and face whatever laid in wait there.

~~~~

Though the odd thing was that the longer he stared at the tower’s balcony, the more he could feel the very essence of the unicorn flowing through the place. And that alone was more than enough to give him the courage back into his heart and just go for it. “Hold on Rarity, I’m coming for you,” Spike spoke in a loud and clear voice before he ran over to the middle doorway.

The doorway that would be leading him to the staircase ascending up in the tower. But what he didn't knew was that that the trap had been set and was already closing in upon himself. For as he walked past the archway and disappeared upon the spiraling staircase, the doors of the domain closed themselves with a loud thud.

A thud that caused the dragon to keep his head through one of the windows that had a sight over the whole place. “So this is going to be it then, hm?” he muttered to himself. He glared his eyes over to the set of closed doors for some time. Something about it did spark both a flame of insecurity as well as something that could be added to his courage. He was more determined than ever to find the love of his life and safe her from whatever doom she happened to be in.

The more he ventured slowly up the darkened staircase, the more he had to force himself not to watch down. The very steps he walked on were made out of an much lighter type of crystal that were also a whole lot more transparent. Resulting in him actually looking straight down to the ground if his eyes even dared to be taken away from the steps before him.

Every so often there was a little window in the structure through which he would be looking if he liked and the sights were always the same. Empty, lifeless, dead. Even when he looked over the treetops of White Tails, he still got those three feelings. Not to forget the wonderful fact of that he made the realization of just how vast the woods happened to be. But the stairs, they seemed to be never ending for the dragon and he had to keep going if he wanted to see his crush once more.

He was just getting closer and closer with each step taken, getting closer to finding out whatever happened to the unicorn. Though also to discover just what it meant to be, to stand somewhere without any actual courage to show for it. Each step that he took up the staircase, there was a little bit of courage that sank back to his feet before it would have left through the crystals.

The baby dragon seemed to have become frightened if the looks weren’t lying to anypony that could be watching. That was another thing that caused it to become even more dangerous. The feeling of being watched by something never seemed to have left him. Many creatures went through his mind with the question of just what it could possibly that was looking at him.

Ghosts? Forces of darkness? The princesses themselves? The changeling queen? Sombra? So many possibilities were there just racing through his mind. But none of them were right. Nopony else then the two commanders of the unicorn had been looking at him through the shadows. They had kept a clean eye upon him. Everything needed to be doing alright if the plan was willing to work.

Shamefully for the two of them had the baby dragon so his own agenda to be keeping up with. “Can’t return now, Spike. You have gotten this far, it’s time to finish it,” he mumbled softly before picking up the pace with both of his legs trembling in fright. He wanted to be done there just so much. But the stairs, they seemed to be going on forever.

“Just… just how high is this place to begin with?” Spike asked himself after he went on with a couple more steps. He looked over to the top of the tower and it seemed to be going on for an eternity. That wasn't something that seemed to be right whatsoever. The tower itself didn't seemed to be that high in his books when he looked at it from the outside.

All of the sudden there was a massive hit that got through to his mind. Without a warning the thought just jumped straight across his mind of what it could possibly be. Having paid that little bit of attention during the lessons of Twilight and her advanced magical spells, he knew almost exactly just what type of spell he had fallen to. “Oh now that’s just clever,” Spike whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep exhale through his mouth.

Then he started to go one floor up on the stairs and imagined the door to be standing right in front of him. It was a long shot away from any kind of hope, but it literally was about the only thing he could be doing and had if he wanted to reach the actual top of the tower.

With the courage gone and the eyes closed, he was truly a vulnerable target for the two spying commanders. Yet on their own turn didn't seem to be doing anything else then to give their information to their queen. She wanted to deal with him personally instead of giving somepony else that pleasure of doing such a thing. A thing they all had to obey.

Another deep exhale was being done by Spike before he dared to open his eyes again. But in the mere split seconds before his eyes opened up again, there was a certain calm that engulfed him. A calm that could always be witnessed and sensed just before a massive storm would be hitting a place. That exact calm was going through his body.

A calm that replenished his courage back to the heart. A heart which was still driving on the fires of love itself. A calm that caused his mind to be doing something that it didn't do very often, which was that it could think rational again. There was no turning back from him anymore. He had come that far and it would have been time for him to end it once and for all. The time would be there to reveal just what happened.

As Spike slowly opened his eyes. He saw that he stood before a crystalline door that didn't let go one grain of light. Darker than the darkest night did it appear in his eyes. They tried to find anything that could be helping him nearby. “Keyhole… key, key, key,” Spike mumbled to himself after he had noticed the hole. All that was needed to be done was to find the actual key that would be fitting upon the lock and therefore open the door like it was nothing.

His eyes looked all over the floor before they found a window near him. The light of the sun shone through it, illuminating the very thing he needed. The happiness that filled his body was something rather unexpected. He took the key from the hook and brought it over to the door. But then it him more than anything at the place. Something just wasn't right in his eyes.

There were no guards who stopped him, no other ponies he ran across and then there was that fog tunnel. The first two things would have made the whole fortress perfect, but it was the third one that called perhaps the most questions. If something wanted to keep both him and Sweetie out, why would it have ever done it? His mind on the other end didn't seem to be able to think about it as the key itself was inserted through the hole and turned over to the left side.

In his ears he heard the clicks of the lock being unlocked and smiled like never before. Everything was slowly falling to pieces and he opened the door with all the strength that he had. Only to reveal a sight he had never expected when he slid through the gap and allowed the door to be closing in behind him. In secret he would have locked himself inside the room of the nightmarish queen. Locked in one room with perhaps the most dangerous pony in the land, lying before him.

~~~~

When the green rimmed eyes of Spike looked over the room, it wasn't just like any other jail cell he had expected to be seeing. Instead he got a massive bedroom that seemed to be fit a queen alone. Confusion was the thing that struck him more than anything and he still had to turn his head over to the actual bed. “What in the name of the Ancients happened here?” he mumbled to himself in confusion. He then dared to look over to the far left side of the chamber.

Then he noticed it that upon the bed itself, the ivory unicorn mare herself had laid down. One of her forelegs had raised her head from the mattress while another was making small little circles upon the blankets. One of her eyes was being covered by her mane while she laid lengthwise on the bed with her hind legs crossed over one another. Her tail was not just placed on top of it all, but actually was being used to make sure that her private and precious body parts remained private.

Spike’s heart almost went into overdrive when he saw the unicorn just lying like that. That ever so seducing pose would have gotten her any stallion almost instantly. She just had to stare out of that one visible eye so dreamy. Spike’s heart couldn't contain itself anymore and he gently walked over to the bed but never actually dared to come up on it. “R-Rarity, is that, you?” he asked her with a nervous voice. The entire scene was almost unbelievable to see.

The unicorn didn't give him any change of emotion visible upon her face nor a simply nod. Instead she spoke up in that sensual tone of hers. “Yes I am, my dear Spikey Wikey. But the questions should be this, have you come to save me after all this time?” she said to him, her voice so dreamy.

Spike had become mesmerized and unable to think straight because of her words she spoke. So he just nodded to her words before saying his own again. “I have, yes! It, it took me some time as nopony in Ponyville wanted to start searching. They, have all given upon on you there. Nopony wanted to believe that you were still alive. B-But here you are, alive a-and well,” the baby dragon managed to speak out against her in the most humblest of tones.

“So it is true then, they really just have forgotten about a mare like myself like that. Shame really, as they would be missing out the obvious when you start to think about it,” replied Rarity to him. Then her lips curled themselves up into a rather unsettling smirk. A smirk that caused all of the alarm bells to ring right inside of Spike’s head.

He knew that something was wrong but couldn't place his claw on it. Yet in the moment that he saw that grin, he knew almost exactly just what it was that had been doing wrong. It wasn't just one thing that seemed wrong, it was everything. “Who are you, and what have you done with Rarity!? The real one, wouldn't speak those kind of words, not against me!” the baby dragon spoke up in anger. He formed two fists with the both of his hands and took a step closer towards the mare.

The threat itself had a little bit of a different outcome at the unicorn herself. For she just flicked her head a little bit backwards before she erupted out in a genuine sounding sicker of, fun? Why would she be laughing at him like that? Why would everything have been doing down the way it did? So many questions he had and that ear piercing laughter didn't help just one bit to get his footing back in the situation.

Nothing made sense to him anymore at the moment. His crush was laughing right at him, for no true reason he could think of. Though somewhere in his mind did he knew that that Rarity wasn't the real one. It just had to be struck to his heart before he could be doing anything again, to make sure he wouldn't be walking around like a massive idiot. A thing perhaps easier said than done.

~~~~

Whether either he or she wanted to actually believe it or not, he still believed strong in the single fact that the real Rarity was hidden somewhere within the monstrosity in which she had been transformed. Perhaps the time of her capture had made her more bitter than ever. Or there would be something else that was at play in the meantime. A plot even darker than he could have ever predicted was being placed and he, he was the king of the game. If he was taken out there and then, the game would have been won by the unicorn just like that. It was a deadly game without a doubt.

Though the reality of the situation laid perhaps a little bit more sensitive. It was indeed a real Rarity who laid upon the bed in that seductive pose. The only problem happened to be that in the moment when Spike closed his eyes and walked up the stairs, that the unthinkable happened.

When he went up the staircase, he walked straight through a thick pack of deadly, fear indoctrinating fog. The same fog that hung all through the forest and it was digging deep into his brain. Images of Rarity were found and used to literally change the nightmarish queen before his very eyes. Where Nightmare Rarity just saw herself as herself, Spike saw her as that once so generous and friendly, ivory unicorn that he loved with his heart.

It was the perfect deception in the eyes of the unicorn who began to grin even deeper and a whole lot more unsettling. “Is that now then?” she spoke up in that sensual tone to him after the laughter had died itself down. The one visible sapphire blue rimmed eye looked straight into his own and the shivers of fright just traveled down the spine of the dragon.

“Yeah! You are everypony but Rarity!” Spike returned to her as he got over his fears. He also did another step closer to her. A thing which caused Rarity to rise both of her eyebrows.

“Stop, right, there. Or the guards might be coming in and trust me, you don’t want to meet them. They are a little bit brainless and attack everything that comes close to me,” said Rarity to him. Almost as if she tried to save him. It was of course a lie, she wanted to keep him off of her just to make sure the facade wouldn't be broken too soon. She wanted to have her little bit of fun with the mind of the dragon. Though what seemed like fun for her, would have been a torture for him.

“Hmpf, fine then. As long as you tell me the truth! What’s going on here?” Spike demanded from her while he pointed a finger right to her. Though the unicorn herself just released a couple chuckles in response as she continued to look over to him with that smirk.

“You truly are one blind little dragon, now aren't you, little Spikey Wikey? Has it never been told to you, that you need to be looking through to the bigger picture of events? Maybe then, you could have realized that you were just another piece in the chess game of kings and queens. Or in this case, queens and princesses,” Rarity said to him in a sadistic tone.

“No, you can’t, you didn't… just said that!” Spike spoke back to her. He did a couple steps away from her for some reason. Not a single fiber in his mind could have believed the words that she just had spoken to him. He didn’t even wanted to believe them as they were.

“Oh, but I just did little Spikey. You see, Chrysalis isn't involved in this. Quite frankly, this is all my work,” Rarity then added with a sick grin going across her lips.

“What?!”

“Get him!”

Without warning from any side did two of the savaged shadow stallions jump out of their hiding places in the room. Within a second had they managed to get a hold of the baby dragon. He was held tight in their hooves. Spike didn't even dare to look any other way then straight ahead. A pair of eyeless freaks was what they were, though they were intimidating enough on their own. If he only know just what kind of monster Rarity herself happened to be. Though the danger still hadn't past for him. If anything, it had only just began to come to him.

“Why, why are you doing this, Rarity?! What are these things anyway?!” Spike yelled at the mare. He wanted to get the answers from her and preferred them sooner than later. As always took the mare her sweet time with getting to the reply for him. She broke the pose she laid in and rolled over to the other side of the bed before she stood up from it with a grin.

Her tail gave itself a slightly revealing flick before her flanks were turned towards him. With a couple steps made in a heart melting pose, she eventually stood before the dragon in a sideways position. Her head had locked itself over to his eyes as the horn charged itself up to make the biggest reveal of his entire lifetime. “Because, little dragon of worthlessness, you all did things to me a long time ago. Things that forced me to change the course of my life. For better or for worse might be discussed, but I call it better. As for what they are, they, are my pets.”

“W-What did we do to you then?! You were the one who disappeared from the face of the lands without a trace!” Spike pleaded in the hope that she would come back to her senses, even if it was just for a little bit. But the hope truly wasn't there as the horn charged itself up.

The charges that were released would be removing the fog from his head, showing him just how the real Rarity looked to the world. Slowly was the shield shattered into nothing more than just an broken illusion. His green rimmed eyes stared at the nightmarish unicorn and he couldn't believe a single thing of what he saw in them. “No… this is impossible! You can’t be her, you can’t!”

But Nightmare Rarity just placed a hoof upon his mouth, shushing him silent. The hoof itself though, was never removed while her one visible eye looked at his. The other one was being blocked by the massive forest of purple and white hair. “I’m going to make you an offer here. An offer that you can’t refuse. Do you understand that what I’m saying right here?” the queen spoke up to him.

In response gave Spike her only a silent nod which caused her to grin like the devil she was.

~~~~

“Attention! Princess on deck!” the voice of a stallion was shouted over the deck. A deck that belonged to one of the two massive airships that the royals had under their personal control. The princess of the night nodded to the ponies who were standing on deck and they all came at ease.

“What I’m going to be asking of each and every one of you, is something that shall be sailing against the policies made by our laws centuries ago, but it has to be done now. Or we will never get the chance again. Captain, if you would please inform the man, I’ll be at the helm,” spoke Luna to the sailors first. She then she turned herself over to the pony who shouted the words in the first place.

“Of course, your highness,” he returned to her before taking a step forward and his eyes looked over every last pony before him. Luna just stepped away and went up to the stairs to get to the helm of the vessel where she simply would be standing until it was time for action.

An action that would determine either her sister’s right or her own. The princess just hoped in the fact that it was her who would be pulling the ropes out of the right end there. The little dream walk with Twilight wasn't forgotten one bit by her. “Time to put the theories to the test,” Luna spoke to herself before her eyes looked over to the skies above her, “and realities to merge.”

27 Getting closer to the truth

The blue rimmed eyes of the lunar princess gazed over the lands below her. The ship had gone airborne and the crew had been informed just what they were about to do. Some of them had the urge to argue against both the captain and the princess, but the plan was seemed to be one hundred percent safe for them. Even though the crew didn't seem to be trusting it for one single bit, they still continued upon doing their jobs on the massive flagship of the lunar air-navy.

The wonderful vessel soared through the skies high above Canterlot. All the ponies upon the ground couldn't belief the sights that they saw passing by. Something about such a massive airship captured their imagination perhaps more than anything else in their entire lives. Even in the bright light of the sun had the Crescent Moon left a series of honorable shadows upon the ground.

A vessel that was propelled forward by a set of massive engines while it was all attached to a massive balloon-like structure. Below all of that was the hull of a three masted, war frigate type, seaworthy vessel. Wars could be waged in both the skies and on the water if Luna wanted to. Though the vessel itself was more used for parades and things the like with all of the decorations it carried.

The time that it went out that day was actually one of the very few times that the ship itself had left the docks in over a millennium. A vessel with a shadow that imposing and one that glided in silence through the air, it could only be dwarfed by the literal sister ship that it had. The war-ready, heavily armed pride of the celestial navy. Luna’s vessel was more of a stealth fighter for hit and run tactics while her sister’s vessel could protect the entire borders of Equestria with just one full broadside salvo of magical cannon-fire. A thing that was usually just done for ceremonies. Though it also had a deeper and perhaps more sinister meaning to it.

The very fact that the ship was still in use. Meaning that forces who wanted to oppose Equestria should be getting past those two vessels at first. Usually that would have been more than enough for any force to stop any attack, even thinking about it. An efficient warning system hidden under the words of ceremony.

The eyes of Luna were set to wage a war of her own. She knew the how’s, the why’s and the when’s in the situation. It was just that she needed to get the little if’s out of the way before she would be doing anything radical in her position. Though in her heart did she knew that there was just one way that it could all be ending.

The vessel turned itself to starboard side. It would have floated over the cliff and straight into the canyon next to which Canterlot was built to continue its journey. The lunar princess took a deep inhale. She allowed all of the scents to enter her nostrils before they were released as a deep exhale. The sailor who stood at the helm, not even five hooves away from the princess, heard the things loud and clear. He carefully looked upon her with a worried expression visible upon his own face.

“It’s nothing sailor, just the fact that I haven’t smelled this air in a long time. But it’s good air, I give them that,” replied Luna just before she cracked him a gentle smile.

The sailor became a little bit relieved from her words. But the doubts never seemed to be going away at all. “If you say so, admiral,” he replied to her before concentrating again for the deeds that were about to be done. They all knew the heading, they all know the plan of attack and defend. They could only pray upon their lives that the little scheme that the princess had come up with was something that would be working like a charm, otherwise some wouldn't come back from the trip.

“Admiral, if I may be so bold to speak up, what it is that you want to achieve by going over those woods? I mean, we have always had this strict policy of not flying over them. It, it has to do with the recent events now doesn't it?” the stallion at the helm asked of her. He had spoken his words without even making eye contact once to the lunar princess.

“You are totally correct on that, yes, this is all done in response to the recent events and I’m quite aware we weren't allowed to be doing that. But it isn't going to stop me if it means I can safe somepony dear to me. This mission shall determine our approach on everything. But the most important part has to be the fact that you need to get her before the woods. Not, over it. That’s when the fun begins for everypony involved,” replied Luna in a tone that made her seem like a stone cold strategist. In the moment of time, she just happened to be that.

Calm sailing for the vessel was the thing that laid ahead before them. The princess herself on the other end remained calm upon her spot next to the helm. She looked over the lands they went over before her eyes returned to the deck and just looked over the crew-members doing their jobs. Everything seemed to be going just as she had planned it out. It was the only way she had planned it out. But the most dangerous part of the entire operation still had to come. “We’re approaching White Tails. Pull on the breaks! Lay her steady in the air and make sure we don’t drift over the woods! I don’t want more casualties than needed,” bellowed Luna over the deck.

Her stone cold but demanding tone was something where not even the captain of the vessel could be doing something again. She was the boss of everything and they only had to obey her orders. Even though he didn't necessarily like the way she handled things, he hadn't made a name for himself in the navy by disobeying an order given by one of the princess. “Do as she says, prepare the longboat! And pray on your dear little lives,” he added on his own. A small group of six stallion in uniform walked down the steps to go to the lower deck and disappeared from their sight.

With the sun visible and not a cloud in the skies around them was the bow in the perfect position to make the observation of the events to come. Which was exactly the place where Luna then headed for. She didn't spoke a single word to any, she was concentrating herself deeper than ever before in order to make certain that no lives would be lost in the upcoming battle. “Pray on the fact that I’m wrong here, captain. For if not, there’s going to be a heavy price that’s going to be paid by all of us,” the princess spoke to herself. She had reached the bow of the vessel and noticed just how the captain had darted right behind her.

“You sure this is the only way of doing the things you wanted to know? I mean, you could just send a squadron of the Wonderbolts, right?” he replied to her with a worried tone. Luna rose herself up on her hind legs and placed her fore ones over a wooden beam to get an even better view. It was in that moment that she was among the very first ponies out there, to realize just what had been happening in the woods of White Tails.

It wasn’t possible to be seen from the ground levels, but with the elevation that the vessel had was it clearly visible. The tower of the dark crystal domain was right in sight for the princess. Not even she could believe the facts that her eyes saw. Everything she had been thinking about prior to that that time was just dumped back into a bin in her mind. New plans were needed and fast. If they had such a tower, they would have been warned long before the vessel even docked. “How did I miss that?” she whispered to herself. The tower was clearly in sight of her eyes yet somehow she seemed to have missed it. Somehow there had to be nothing else but a, “perception filter, oh she’s good.” Luna added softly as she knew what was going on and released a small smirk of admiration rather than horror.

“Ready the longboat! They need to get out now!” the princess of the night called out. The captain gave her a salute in response. But little did he knew was that her voice also went through the decks to the hatches of said longboats.

The six sailors who sat in the smaller vessel tried their best to get their nerves under control. Though nothing seemed to be just what it was and that was a little fact that worried them all more than anything. They could only hope and rely on princess Luna from that point onwards. Whether or not that was a good thing to be doing, none of them truly knew.

“So this is going to be it then, eh? Live or die in a longboat to find something out. Had hoped for a more, interesting death, if you know what I mean,” one of the sailors said. All of the others did understood the position where he came from. They had also seen and heard the unicorn on the moon of course, but they never actually wanted to believe the sheer fact that such a creature lived among their lands. It seemed like something from ages long forgetting, ponytales that came to life.

Then came the call for them. The call that the hatches needed to be opened they would be left out on their fate. The wooden hatches opened themselves up from below the longboat before it plummeted a couple dozen hooves downward to clear itself from the mothership. With the balloon filled with air and the engine running were they on their own from that point on.

The sun shone bright in their faces before they steered towards the woods of White Tails to discover whether or not Luna’s suspicions would be confirmed or denied. None of them wanted to do the job of course but they had to as they were chosen by the alicorn herself. Silence was the emotion that dominated the entire longboat. All of them knew what they needed to do and what was expected from them.

Yet that didn't took away that they were frightened for their lives. Looking down over the edge of the longboat and thus straight into the never ending fog. A fog that seemed to be calling them even from up there wasn't that much of a good idea either.

~~~~

Even at the altitude they were cruising there was just something that seemed to be terribly wrong. Somehow the reach of the fog was higher than anypony could have expected. Though they weren't going mentally insane as those who actually walked among it. However, it was more than enough to give each of them the living creeps. The mission had become even worse for them all there and then and the real thing still needed to begin.

“Look there, a tower,” one of the sailors who had taken his position upfront called out. He even pointed towards it. All the others looked at it and they knew in an instant that trouble would be hitting them. The only thing that could and should be done was to continue with their orders. Slowly was the floating longboat steered towards the tower. The silence overtook everything once more. Silence of the dead, a graveyard made even more noise outside of the burning fires and the occasional creaking of the woods.

All of the sudden they all heard it emerging. That signature blast of a cannon that would have been used to sink an air and naval ship. “Incoming!” was shouted across the longboat. Though they had nothing to defend themselves. They were literally just sitting ducks that would be taken out with just one, powerful shot. The worst part? Each of the six stallions knew exactly that. They wouldn't live to sail another day. That little trip over the woods of White Tails would have been their last one.

“Gentlecolts, it has been my honor!” was shouted across the longboat before they all hunkered down and braced for impact. Fear and fright took over while their hearts raced in their chests and throats, everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. Though the worst part had to be the fact that they heard the shot coming closer and closer to them. They all heard the whistle it carried in their ears, awaiting their end. Yet in those final moments before impact, time seemed to have just stopped for each of them while they were still counting down until their own deaths.

But that was something that never seemed to be happening. Something that caught them all by surprise. There was something that wasn't right at all. They should have been dead by then. Something seemed like it was protecting them. And then it fell straight in their ears. The deafening blast of the cannon salvo into the longboat. Yet there was something off as the sounds seemed to be not around them but actually further away from them.

One of the sailors dared to open up one of his eyes and the wood it caught was a lot brighter, wider and even sturdier. “What in..?” he mumbled to himself. He dared to rise up and had a better look over his surroundings. With the sights that he got presented within his eyes, it all just seemed to be so unbelievable. He couldn't have ever thought to see the things again. And finally was the princess herself caught in his eyes. Her horn still smoking from a massive spell and all of the puzzle pieces suddenly fell upon their places.

“Oh now this is just too great, isn't it? Boys, you ain't gonna be believing this, but we’re still alive! All thanks to the admiral herself!” the stallion spoke in a tone of genuine joy. Relief surged through the body that the troubles they had been gone through laid finally behind them all.

Luna on the other end, she had continued to looking towards the sinking longboat. It was shot out of the skies with just one burst of magic. “Powerful, can’t be any of them. Must be the host itself. This was an interesting observation for certain. But that’s all I can say about it, captain,” the mare said aloud. She then turned her head over to the stallion in uniform.

“Turn her around, I've seen more than enough for now. I need time to think about this,” Luna added before her eyes turned themselves back to the woods. “Lots of it.”

The captain himself nodded with relief to her words and he turned himself over to the crew. “Lads! We’re going home! Bring her about and full speed dead ahead! Destination, Canterlot!”

~~~~

Time kept coming and going as if nothing could be stopping it. The only force where the ponies of the land had not a single word to say over, the power of time itself and everything it stood for. It was true that it could be altered to one's beliefs, but it always continued to be going just the way that it loves to be. Unchained, uncaptured, unrelented.

It was that time, that had been going by for a week since Spike had been captured within the domain of the unicorn herself. During that single week was each pony in the land once again treated with the sights and laughter of the nightmarish unicorn herself. Though for that same amount of time had they been explaining the entire situation to Emerald. They had been training themselves harder than ever. It would have been their time to shine and they knew it. If there was a way to get Rarity back, they would have to be going straight into the woods of White Tails and sniff her out.

A plan of insanity it perhaps might have been, but all of the ponies oddly enough seemed to have been able to be living with. Almost everypony was certain to get Rarity back one way or the other. The only one who seemed to be having doubts on his own, was the only stallion of the company. Time and time again had Twilight found him standing on the balcony of their hotel, pondering his mind while he would be looking to the moon with disbelief.

It was a little something that she understood perhaps more than others of their group. He was just a normal stallion with problems in the underworld, a location none of them ever had gone to personally and he wasn't used to suddenly became the savior of the lands. Twilight and her friends –being the elements of harmony– had caused the mind of the stallion to be crashing left and right.

On one night, the very night before they would be leaving back to Ponyville specifically, it was that time again. Something caused the mulberry mare to wake up in the middle of the night. She left her bed with a bit of a sleeping brain. Though the cold air of the balcony door that had opened itself was something that woke her up almost right away. The eyes of the unicorn opened themselves a bit wider before they were being rubbed by a foreleg.

“Wazz was zhat?” the voice of Rainbow mumbled out. She seemed to be waking up from the cold. Before Twilight could even make a reply to it, was the pegasus snoring once again like she always did. A little sigh in relief was made by the mulberry unicorn before she finally went to the balcony door and slipped through it, closing it a bit more behind her to keep the words private.

“Was wondering where you stayed. Seems to be a recurring theme don’t you think? Us two standing here below the light of the moon, looking over the Crystal Empire like this,” Emerald chuckled softly to himself. He shook his head with a deep sigh. There was still something that had been questioning him the whole time he had been with the mares. A question that was asked almost every single night and the answer would always have been the same.

“Twilight, if I have to believe your words, then answer me this for once. How could a mare like Rarity, turn into something like that monster we have seen on the surface of the moon?” The unanswerable question was asked once again to the mare. Who released a deep sigh to herself. She tried to formulate an answer different than the ones given through the rest of the week.

The eyes of the stallion turned themselves away from the scenery and they focused themselves upon her. Their calm gaze comforted the mare a lot more then she would have wanted to admit for certain. “I wish I could have the definitive answer on that one, Emerald, I really wish. But I can only assume that, after the elements of harmony purified Luna, it didn't destroy the essence that formed Nightmare Moon. Somehow, it managed to live on and nestle itself right inside of Rarity’s mind, before it took control of her body and soul. …Or, perhaps even more crazier, the fact that she’s still a captive by some unknown force that ravages through the land. Using her image, to remain hidden from the light of everything,” explained Twilight to him.

Those words alone caused the stallion to be slightly terrified, a visual shiver traveled down the spine. Something about her words had spooked him more than he would have preferred. “Still… I hope you are wrong on both occasions. No offence but this, this is just a little bit over my head, if you catch my drift,” he replied to her before feeling the warm leg going over his back. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, it’s tough for us all really. We all just can’t believe that it is Rarity who’s behind all of this. Or we can only assume that it is her,” Twilight replied to him with a small smile upon her face. “Come, we need to get some sleep before we catch the train tomorrow.” With those words did the stallion release a small exhale through his nose. Then he went with the unicorn back inside. Looking for his bed again in the hope to get some kind of rest for the remainders of the night.

~~~~

Hours passed by and in the morning of their departure, every last pony was doing their best to get their things together. Pinkie Pie seemed to be having a little bit of troubles left and right to get everything back in her suitcase. Only with the help of Rainbow Dash and Applejack did they manage to get everything inside of it and they were ready to hit the road for the station of the Empire.

“…Just out of curiosity, but, does it always go like that?” Emerald asked as he and Fluttershy were the last two ponies in the convoy. The yellow mare looked at him strange at first. Followed by a small giggle and a nod to confirm the words.

“Yes it does. But you’ll be getting used to it eventually actually,” she said to him.

“How long did it took you then?”

“Oh what was it..?” Yet then she just fell silent from him and turned her looks forwards again. Fluttershy was unsure whether or not he had offended her in any way, Emerald decided it was perhaps better for him to keep shut as well and just walk with the mares towards the station.

With a small walk across the street had the ponies all arrived at the station before they boarded themselves in the train that would be going to Canterlot with making the curve at Ponyville. Their home and stop, but also the last major town before the woods of White Tails divided the land.

All six of the ponies settled themselves down in their private compartment and the chattering began. The subjects were the usual ones about the weather, the train and the station. All of those little things to keep their minds off of the facts about Rarity herself. Though in the back of their heads, they all knew they couldn't just press her back into their minds. Even Emerald Masquerade had to think almost constant about the mare in question.

Twilight’s theory of her being a captive as well by some higher force still caused the shivers to travel down the spine. Though nopony could be truly noticing it as the train started to come to live. Slowly it started to pull them off of the station and unto the open railroad.

The trip in the train was just as the one they had before. It was long and boring to their hearts content. Something about it just didn't even made them care for the view anymore. Mostly because it was the same for about two third of the trip. The only change of scenery would be when the train would be going around the woods of White Tails themselves. That change from open countryside and the occasional town they soared through to the dense fog covered forest did offer a lovely change.

For most of the way were each of the friends just sunken in sleep to prepare themselves for their arrival back in Ponyville itself. That, or they were thinking about just how they would be returning Rarity with them. Leaving the mare behind was not an option whatsoever and each of them knew that. They would return with the mare dead or alive. Of course they hoped to be taken her alive. Twilight and Fluttershy were two of the actual few who had made the decision to read through some of their books that they had taken along for the trip and Emerald himself, he simply looked out of the windows to the scene.

It was oddly calmly for him. Just that never ending countryside before they rushed through a town or two. The sights that he saw were peaceful and happy. It was also something that got him to think perhaps more than he originally would have liked in the first place. Thoughts his debt in the Manehatten underworld was going to be paid one way or the other. Perhaps through some massive luck would he have been able to get the mares to actually help him in the deed.

Yet the idea was really farfetched even for him to come up on it. His emerald green rimmed eyes continued to be staring out of the window before his head was gently placed upon it and closed his eyes for the moment. Before the stallion even knew it, he had fallen into a deep sleep with a gentle snore that made the mares giggles a little bit the first time they heard it.

~~~~

Thundering down the tracks that laid before it had the train caught up with its speed more before it was eventually lowered again. The turn to Ponyville was next. Going through that with a crashing speed was about the last thing anypony would have liked. So coming in at almost a snail’s pace before the train stopped on the station. That last and final push of the brakes caused the stallion to wake up from his slumber and blink a couple of times.

His eyes readjusted themselves to the sight that they saw and a deep exhale was made through his nostrils. “So, Ponyville, we meet again,” he mumbled to himself before the bags were all taken from the luggage compartment. Each of the mares left the train with the crowd. One by one they all appeared on the station itself before they made the decision to go to the Golden Oak library first before unpacking their luggage. If not adding to the packages they carried with them.

When the company walked through the town, one pinkish and purple coated, unicorn mare seemed to be galloping towards them. “Twilight! Twilight!” was called out. In response did the mulberry unicorn rose an eyebrow. She didn't have a clue just who the pony could have possibly been. It was only after she had given her eyes the time to look better that the realization of Pearl, Rarity’s mother, who was coming straight for her.

“W-What’s the matter? Something wrong?” she questioned Pearl straight away. The mare came to a standstill and looked her deep in the eyes. “Catch your breath, then tell me everything that happened, alright? Girls, you can go to the library, Spike will be there.”

“That’s the problem!” Pearl all of the sudden shouted, catching everypony’s attention.

“H-How do you mean that? What happened?” Twilight replied as she became frightened herself.

Then the story was being told. The story that both Sweetie Belle and Spike went camping somewhere along the lines of the woods, that Spike never made his return from them. It was a story that caught each of them by a massive surprise. Each of them, except Emerald himself for some reason. The stallion on his own turn, just seemed to glance into the eyes of Pearl.

“So this has become more than just one rescue mission, it has become two. Listen up everypony! We go to the library, pack our gear and then had to the same location where Sweetie and Spike entered the woods. We can only hope everything is alright with him,” the mulberry unicorn spoke up before they all turned themselves over towards the library with determined looks.

Yet the only one who wasn't truly ready for it all, was Emerald Masquerade himself. Him and Pearl continued to exchange the looks with one another before finally the light bulb in the mare her head is turned on. “Impossible that it’s you! Emerald?” the mare dared to ask of him.

The stallion nodded to her words before he released a soft sigh in response and broke the eye contact just for a moment. “The one and only, miss,” replied Emerald. It was followed by a small smile below his muzzle and a blush over his cheeks.

“I could slap you for the pain you caused my daughter back then, but she got over it just like yourself I presume. So it’s water under the bridge shall we say. Which then leaves me, with this. Why, are you here and how have you been?” the mother of the ivory unicorn spoke up. She wanted to know the more finer details about the life of the stallion.

Where she thought to be getting answers, was the opportunity to speak to the concerned mother never given to the stallion. Rainbow Dash herself interfered with the both of them. “Sorry Emerald, Rarity’s mom, but chatting can be done later. We’re a little in an emergency here, remember?” All of the sudden did both of their eyes went wide as they realized just why they were being brought over there and nodded to the words of the pegasus. “Thank you,” Rainbow then added in an oddly polite tone before she just dragged the stallion along with her.

The only thing that was left for them six to be doing was to get the location from Sweetie Belle and travel down to that exact spot before facing perhaps the greatest menace that the land had ever seen and stood up against. And among them, that one stallion who wouldn't even be having an idea of what would be happening or has already happened. Haste and speed be on their side, not to mention Twilight’s teleportation spell. Which was exactly the thing she used to get to the point as fast as she could.

~~~~

One massive flash of raspberry colored magical aura was given off. Then the six ponies were teleported upon the grass just outside of the camp where the filly and the dragon had been spending the night under the stars. Each of them began to rub their heads with the feeling of being dizzy and nauseous. Though when a small headcount was being done by Twilight with a still discharging horn, she noticed that one pony was missing. One pony who they needed very, very much in the situation.

“Anypony seen Emerald?” she asked to the four of them. All of the eyes went wide before they began to look around if they could be seeing just where on earth that stallion had been going to. But they were all out of luck. That was until they heard a splashing sound from water and a deep inhale to be taken.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” the voice of Emerald echoed through the air. All of the mares turned themselves over to the small creek. Which apparently was big enough for a pony to drown in if done right. “No need to, to worry about old me,” the stallion chuckled up before he coughed a couple of times and shook his head. Twilight nodded to the words. It was Fluttershy who began to look after him in case something did went wrong. With that, she meant critically wrong.

“That’s it, keep coughing until the water is out, then try to speak again,” said Fluttershy to him while she patted him on the back. It was a bit harder than usual to get him to cough even more. Which was working like a charm as every last drop of water that had entered the both of his lungs was being removed from it. “Take as long as you need.”

Meanwhile had Twilight made her way a bit closer to the original campsite and smirked a little bit towards it. She seemed to be happy with the way everything was set up and left. “Girls, we are going to build our camp right here. Just set up the tents and we’ll be fine. We’re this close, and I need to go in there as soon as possible,” she spoke to them all.

“Don’t you mean, we, Twilight?” Rainbow corrected her with a sharp tone to her voice before she started to unpack parts of her saddlebags and gave them to Applejack who tried to make cheese out of the whole mess that was going to be the massive tent.

“No Rainbow, I really mean myself for this one time. She has taken something even more dearer to me, than any of you. She didn't just took my assistant, it felt like she took, my son,” replied Twilight to each of them. She had turned herself around and looked each of the ponies in the eyes one by one. All of them saw just how much the fires burned in her heart to get the dragon back.

“I, I understand where you’re coming from Twi,” the cyan pegasus mumbled up. She retreated herself into the business that she was supposed to be doing. She let the unicorn be for the moment. The unicorn just nodded to Rainbow Dash before she turned herself back around to the fog and carefully charged up the horn before mumbling words to herself. Words spoken in the ancient tongue of the unicorns and nopony even dared to interrupt her again until she spoke to them first.

Minutes would have passed into hours before the mulberry unicorn finally turned herself around. The afternoon was late and the sun was already setting. “Listen up, oh, nice work with the tent there, by the way,” Twilight spoke when she caught the massive tent in her view and smiled to the builders. “Anyway, with the little daylight that we’re having, it’s too dangerous to actually go into it right now. So what we will be doing, is that we are going tomorrow morning. At first light, I want every last one of you up and ready to go. The concentration of magic that is hidden within this very fog is higher than I thought it would be. I am able to create a shield that will allow us passage, but we need to stick together.”

“And, if we don’t?” Emerald asked up. He had not even the slightest of clues just what was exactly going on there and then. It all seemed so normal for the other mares, while he was clueless.

Twilight walked up to him with a deep sigh released through her nostrils. She stood still before him and just spoke the truth. “You’ll go mad by your fears and frights. The magic surging through that fog is powerful. Powerful enough to drive every, living, being, insane just by their frights. Not enough to kill them physically. But more than enough to make them go braindead.”

“Understood,” Emerald whispered before the dinner would be prepared. The mood tried to lighten itself up and Pinkie did her utmost best but it just wasn't any use for it. They all knew the urge of the situation and how they would perhaps be able to make it. The time of jokes and chatter was over. They were beyond the point of no return and each of them, knew that deep in their hearts.

The ponies all laid in the tent and shut their eyes for the upcoming night. But whether or not they would actually be able to sleep was something that each of them had to be witnessing there and then. They hoped but didn't actually expected it to happen.

~~~~

“This, this is odd. This wasn't here yesterday and I don’t get any readings from it either. As if it, wants us to come there,” the voice of Twilight mumbled into Pinkie’s ears. She was woken up by them. Curiosity struck the mare more than anything. She left her stretcher and went to look for Twilight.

Who she found oddly enough, by the fog of the forest together with something else. An opening that seemed to be leading them straight into the pits of the devil. “You’re talking about that, aren't you?” the pink coated earth pony spoke up before Twilight gave off a simple nod.

“Yes,” she then said and turned herself around. The horn discharged itself as the looks in her eyes only became sterner. “It’s not right. No magic in the opening nor the barrier of it. As if it is inviting us to enter. Shall we risk it, Pinkie? Going in there and hope we come to the right location?” Twilight brought out in a tone that was filled with uncertainty. Yet in her mind had she made the decision for a long time already. It was an open invitation that could be turned into a trap instantly, that much she knew for certain.

“Do it, Twilight, we have to go. It’s better than wandering through that fog by ourselves right? I mean…” Pinkie said to her, unable to finish what she wanted to say.

“I heard you Pinkie, I heard you. Rally the girls and the stallion. We’re going in.” Pinkie Pie gave a nod in response before she did what was asked of her and not even ten minutes later, each of the ponies was wandering through the tunnel carved out in the fog itself.

All of them felt themselves truly uncomfortable but the worst was still to come for each of them. Even though the fog didn't seem to be having an effect upon the six ponies, Fluttershy still felt herself as if they were being watched by somepony, or something perhaps.

~~~~

Taken by surprise from that already had the yellow pegasus made the decision not to say anything about it as it could have been perhaps just something her eyes had mistaken from trees. If she only had only listened to her brain, instead of her heart. Yet the biggest surprise came when they reached the dark crystal structure in the middle of the woods. “W-What’s this now?” Emerald asked to Twilight with concern coming from almost every single angle of his voice.

“Looks like, this is the end of the line. But the structure looks like it can be used by Sombra himself. So that makes me question: could he behind it all along?” Twilight mumbled to herself. She turned herself back around to face each of the ponies. All of their faces filled with questions but perhaps more important, was the fact that the tunnel behind them had been closing itself.

The mulberry unicorn blinked a couple of times in response to it. She couldn't believe it that it was happening and she turned herself back around to face the structure. “And this is the final station before the trains are being shut down for the night.”

28 The biggest picture

All six of the ponies were standing baffled before the structure in the woods. They didn't knew what to think any more about it. Not to forget the fact that the walls had been closing in behind them. Which rendered the only way they could be going, was none other than forward. They were just getting that much closer to the truth behind the unicorn and everything around it. Finally they would have been able to physically see the biggest picture of it all. They could even ask the unicorn just what happened if she’s able to reply.

Some of them had already given up the hope that Rarity would be letting something go, they wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be some kind of bride to the spirit of Sombra who on his own turn used her for his own sickening ends. If only that were the truth was just that simple.

“Shall we, you know, get in?” Rainbow Dash said. She was really eager to find out the truth but also was a little bit cautious with everything. She had the feeling that there would be traps along the way without a doubt. She just didn't knew where to look or what to do. Everypony pretty much agreed with her, as the things seemed to be safer on the inside then on the outside.

Twilight and Fluttershy had so their own thoughts about it. “Can’t we just, uhm, turn back around and wait in the camp?” the shy voice of the pink maned pegasus echoed. Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked at her with a rather serious look upon their faces. They couldn't believe that she was proposing that, while they were standing literally at the brink of the discovery of a lifetime.

And yet it was Twilight herself who ran past all five of them. She charged up her horn to do some readings of the fog itself. Silence was the sound that took over each of them as none of them even actually dared to stand up against Twilight and speak against her when it came down to word and deed. “This is bad, this is very, very bad actually,” mumbled Twilight while she continued to point her horn into different directions.

“What is it, Twi?” Pinkie asked to her. She wanted to know the finer details of the set. “It’s something bad, isn't it?” All of the other ponies then looked at her with a look as if she was actually serious. The only response they got out of her was a gentle squee before the attention was turned back to the mulberry mare.

“Oh yes, it is bad. This is terrible even. I think that, that we’re stranded here from now on,” spoke Twilight up after she had turned herself around to face the others and discharged her horn. “The pathway we followed to here is basically gone like the wind. Something, somewhere took it away and it is all replaced with the stuff around us. From which I have the feeling that it isn't going to be staying like this either. I’m afraid, we have to go in.”

“And ya can’t fancy a teleport outta here, Ah presume?” Applejack said to her. She seemed to be one of the few ponies who actually had a good idea during that time.

In response did Twilight shook her head. The cowgirl released a small groan in response. “No, this magic is strong and I do not know what it does. For all I know, it can zap us straight back and scatter us across the woods. And I’m not taking the risk to be split Applejack. Now, move it.”

With the command that was given to each of them, did all of the ponies approach the archway that would be leading them into the domain with care. They went straight into the lair of the mare who had been orchestrating all of it. Twilight was the last pony to have entered and before she went, her eyes meant to be seeing something in the fog. She brought herself to a halt in order to look at it better for a second or two before the revelation was made.

“They shot it down, they just, shot it down,” she whispered to herself. She kept on gazing over the remains of the longboat from the Crescent Moon. Disgusted by the loss of lives, Twilight would have turned her head away and then just continued to proceed forward. Only to rejoin herself by the group. “Sorry, something caught my attention, longboat of one of the royal air-ships got shot down and just lays there,” Twilight mumbled to Applejack in a whisper. Who on her own turn looked over to Twilight with an expression that she couldn't believe the facts for herself.

“Say what again?” the cowgirl asked in returning before she shook her head a little bit. “Actually, keep it to yarself partner. Ah don’t wanna know what’s going on here to begin with.”

“Now that makes two of us,” the unicorn replied as she released a small sigh through her nostrils and looked up at the structure once again. Just the outer walls that were clearly visible before they would be going into the three doorways and the tower. “My best guess, up there.”

All of the ponies looked up to see the tower just standing there in the fullest of glories. None of them could be believing something like that could even exist inside of the place. It seemed to be like the fuel for nightmares, which was the actual intention of it. Some of the ponies –especially Fluttershy– just prayed on the fact that Twilight would be using her teleportation spell. Most of them just wanted to out of there in that very moment.

Though the present never went down as one would have liked or would have expected. The situation in which they were was indeed one of those cases where that was fully proved. Slow and gentle steps were made forward while each of the ponies looked their eyes out just at the sheer terror that the structure gave each of them. None of them could believe that Rarity could be in the place. None of them wanted to believe the facts as they were. They just weren't ready for it.

The horn of Twilight charged itself up again. She began to once again do some readings while they passed the middle of the courtyard. Something had triggered her awareness and she wasn't happy in the least bit. Something was watching them from all the sides as they could possibly have done it. Though before Twilight could be bringing out any sound, the invasion literally happened on top of them.

~~~~

They were howling like the wind and groaning like the dead. The clouds of shadows and the shadow stallions made themselves apparent for each of the ponies. Almost in an instant had they began to surround the six of them. Fighting wouldn't be something that would be favorable for them all but they wouldn't go down without trying.

The magic that had collected itself in the horn of the unicorn herself was released against one of the clouds. One who just avoided it like it was nothing at all. Though for some reason, after she had fired the blast from her horn, it discharged itself almost automatically. “W-What?! My magic!” Twilight exclaimed, “what’s happening to it?!” She desperately tried to get her horn charged up again but whatever she tried, it wouldn't help one bit.

The six had been taken by surprise and they formed a circle facing each of the nightmare forces in a split second. Applejack smirked a little bit as her head gently turned itself to the stallion in the middle. “Welcome to our world, mister Masquerade. Time to show us all, what yar made of. Here they came y'all!” the cowgirl yelled to them. She narrowed her eyes a little bit and prepared herself. She prepared herself for the trouble that would be coming within the next few seconds.

Each of the girls did exactly the same. Much to everypony’s surprise had even Fluttershy readied herself for the upcoming fight. A fight that seemed to be in the favor of the dark creatures no matter the way they looked at it. “Twi, what are these things?!” the cyan pegasus questioned. Though she kept her eyes going from right to left.

“If I only knew, Rainbow. Not even I know anything about these things! But here they come!” Then it would have happened. The assault on the six of them had begun and was going literally in the fullest of forces. Clouds of shadows were being used to distract the six of them before the shadow stallions tried to get a hold on each of them.

The nightmare forces switched every so often between their shapes to throw even more confusion into the mix. The six ponies wouldn't even been able to hit one of the forces due to their non-physical connection to the world.

“Ah don’t think, these things, will be quitting on us, soon,” said Applejack. She was exhausted from the fighting with the mysterious entities. Everything seemed to be going wrong in her eyes. Yet before she even knew it, she was taken by the shadow stallions and dragged over to the side line. There was another group of other shadow stallions who would be holding her in place.

No response ever came to the words of Applejack but the actions were repeated every so often to get a new pony to the sideline. Until even Twilight Sparkle herself was being captured and dragged away by the creatures of darkness. No hope, no faith and no luck could be saving them all from the fate that was about to come. They had been captured by their enemies.

They couldn't help but to think that they would be executed literally upon the spot they were forced to lay down on. A thought that just about as comforting as to discovering who was really in charge of everything.

“I’m starting to think it was a major mistake to come down here,” Emerald spoke all of the sudden. He gave his eyes the time to look towards each of the mares. “Especially with each of you. But you, Fluttershy, you still managed to convince me somehow! You’re the worst of them all. Manipulative, that’s the thing that you’re.”

“You said you wanted to live a bit!” the yellow pegasus replied in her defense against him. She had recalled the exact words as they were spoken at the cafe a long time ago.

“And not to forget that you could have left any given second. You’re here out of your free will, Emerald. Free will alone. Something inside of you kept on whispering that you should never have left whatsoever. And look at you now, living the life you wanted. …More or less,” replied Twilight. She watched how terrible their situation had become and tried to figure something out.

Though it was Applejack who had to rub the words right back in his face. Being the little hothead with a short fuse that she was, the bomb had gone off in her mind. The cowgirl released a deep exhale. “Listen, you little vermin, Fluttershy isn't manipulative at all. It’s her charm that certainly does that trick. But as Twi said, you could have bailed out any second before we got here. But yah didn't, so Ah reckon you better be keeping that mouth of yars shut because when I get loose out of these jokers their hold, it should be me who you should be fearing, am Ah clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” Emerald simply replied to the cowgirl. He closed his eyes and released a deep sigh through his nostrils. Nothing in the world could have ever prepared him for the trouble he would have gotten into. Suddenly had that debt in Manehatten seemed to be like a golden opportunity in his mind. Instead he was stuck there and pressed against the ground by a couple dozen nightmare forces just like the rest of them.

Yet when they just laid down there, there suddenly was a laughter that reminded the five elements of one pony, and one pony alone. There was only one mare in the known universe that had such a sickening laughter. “Nightmare Moon!” all five of them yelled up in choir as they tried to locate the very origin of the sound.

“This, this ain't happen, is it? She got, she got destroyed when we blasted her!” Applejack said to them. She looked over to Twilight for much needed answers. The other ponies, including Emerald, all began to speak their words before the unicorn herself could be answering the question.

“No, no, no, out of every last pony that we could have been facing it has to be her!? We’re doomed I’m telling you, doomed!” Rainbow Dash almost cried out. She couldn't believe what her ears had heard. Last time they had the elements and barely defeated her, then they got nothing.

“I wish I never had gone with the five of you! You’re only good for trouble and you know it,” hissed Emerald to the five of them before he turned his eyes back over to the tower of the domain.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had both closed their eyes before the tears started to stream down both of their cheeks as neither of them could believe that Moon had made her return without anypony knowing. “Quiet!” Twilight yelled to them all. She had more than enough of all the doomsday scenarios from the ponies. “Everypony just be quiet and let me think for a moment!”

It did have some effect as each of the ponies did grew silent. They were either looking towards the mulberry unicorn or the location of just where the sounds came from. “Parts of her, must have survived, somehow. Pieces of her essence scattered through… Oh, now it makes sense. No, no, no, no. Don’t tell me that that is how it happened, everything but!” Twilight became afraid.

“What is it, Twi?” Applejack asked with curiosity but also frightened for her life.

“Nightmare Moon, took over Rarity’s body. Forget Sombra, forget Discord, forget Chrysalis. We've never faced something like, we’re about to face, I’m afraid,” the unicorn spoke up in a terrified tone. In response did they all released a gulp. They looked towards the footing of the tower of the domain. The very place where the others thought to have heard the laughter originated from. “And here, she comes,” was added by the mare.

~~~~

In the doorway that would be leading towards the tower itself, could the heavy sounds of hooves that landed upon the crystals be heard in full glory. The sound that made each of them even more nervous than they already were and the courage all sank deep into their own hooves. Nopony could have ever expected that the horror that they would be facing, was coming right for them.

And yet the worst fact of everything had to be that Nightmare Moon had done something to the body of Rarity. She was needed for something that could be ranging from just disrupting the balance between the elements, to things they preferred not to think about. Out of the doorway it appeared with purple flames that travelled up the entire legs, from the hooves up to the shoulder and waist. Flames that never revealed any bit of the body but did scorch the earth below the hooves.

Already had they started to fear for their dear little lives. They saw the gem on top of a horn like structure. Bits and pieces were revealed to them. That gem showed each of them that it was attached to a long looking horn. Though the lights of the fires they could make out that the body structure itself was of a made roughly the size of Celestia herself. If not just a little bit bigger.

None of the ponies could believe just what was walking in the shadows of the tower. Even though the time was just in the middle of the day, the atmosphere seemed like it had been turned into nothing but the darkness of the night. It was an effect that none of them seemed to have notched even though it had been there since the initial attack of the nightmare forces.

“This can’t be…” Fluttershy whispered. Though she didn't even dare to take her eyes off of the creature. Something deep inside of her body told her that it was the thing, they had been seeing in their dreams for a long time already.

Though suddenly there was something from in between the fires that were two blobs of darkness that separated themselves from the body. They didn’t leave any visual scars or anything. Those two blobs rolled over to the six of them before they turned themselves into the two deadly commanders of the domain, Shadowfright and Shadowblood. The two of them walked up to the group with grins that gave away their teeth and showed them in the fullest of glory to the ponies.

Of course it was something to indulge even more fear into them as well as intimidation. Though all had faced the changelings on their own once, which ended up in them not being too scared for the fangs. What did do the trick though was the fact that they had the gem for their eyes. Actual and whole gems were crammed into the eye sockets. Never had they seen anything the like and could connect the dots to one another even more.

Though when Twilight began to inspect the forces that were holding each of them in their places, the lack of actual eyes finally came through to her mind. “So that means, you two are her right and left hooves,” the unicorn whispered to herself. She glared over to the two commanders. Then her attention just returned to the figure that was still coming closer to the six of them.

Whomever it was, it did love to take it’s sweet time with the lot of them. Any other pony that wanted to end their lives would have taken the opportunity long ago. Yet there was one force that knew how to defy time by having spent a thousand years alone on the rock in the skies. Slowly did the pieces of the puzzle fell together for Twilight. She knew just whom it was that walked into their direction. “So we meet again, don’t we?” she spoke inaudible to herself. She decided that she was ready for the big revelation to come. She was ready to see, just who laid behind the shadows.

The two commanders returned to their places in front of the six ponies and assumed a much more regal posture. The other pony did a step out of the tower’s shadow. What was revealed to the ponies, was a leg with a very dark blue to black coat, indulged of course in the flames that rushed over the four legs. Then came the chest in that same coloring before the head was finally revealed.

It was in the second that it was standing in the brighter light that everything could to be identified by each of them. It was Fluttershy whose eyes opened themselves wider than anything. “It’s you! The one who has been tormenting each of us in our dreams! What have you done with Rarity?! You, you witch!” she yelped out in utter terror. She didn’t have any control over her words.

The more the ponies looked at the face, the more they started to make the realization that it was indeed the mare they had seen upon the moon –and in their dreams. But Applejack still wasn't convinced one bit. She had only seen the set of eyes in her dreams. Those were still closed by the mare. Not for much longer though. The words of Fluttershy caused the ears to twitch and they opened themselves in the fullest of glories. The eyes with their haunting stare were revealed.

It was only to give Applejack a heart attack. “No! No, no, no, Ah won’t believe this witchcraft! You ain't her!” she tried to deny to herself. But the eyes were exactly the same ones that she saw in her dream. “Ah wasn't dead in that dream! Ah, just wasn't!” Tears had already started to crack down from below her eyes. She was forced to remember reading the gravestone again and again.

Out of every pony had Applejack to be the only one who hadn't been able to actually process the nightmare that she had. “Ah ain't dead, and yah know it.”

Then the biggest surprise of them all came. For the unicorn herself spoke up in the mixture of tones. One that belonged to Nightmare Moon herself, while the other obvious one they could make up, belonged to Rarity herself. “So, so, so, you little fillies and colt finally have figured out the events, hm? But trust me, you haven’t even seen half of it yet and I, don’t even intend to show you. You’re better off dead and food for my pets than anything else after all you have done. Shame, I know.”

~~~~

A smirk came to the face of the being as the chuckle was being released kept on going. That was until the eyes of the mare had gone over each of the six ponies that were still forced to the ground. Six ponies who seemed to be unable to be doing anything against the madness that had consumed their once so beloved friend. There wasn't any doubt any more in the minds of the ponies just where Rarity had been used for in the end. Though the being herself seemed to be willing to throw in that extra little bit of turmoil for their minds. “I, am, Rarity!” she spoke up in that twisted voice before she focused her attention upon Emerald specific. “Or better said, Nightmare Rarity.” Her words were then followed up by another snicker of madness.

All of the ponies couldn't believe that their once so beloved tailor had been turned into a monster like that. None of them even could comprehend such a massive fact. One of their best friends, an element of harmony no less, had turned away the light of the sun, moon and friendship, only to choose for the darkness of the shadows and dwell within them. It broke the mares their hearts. Each of them felt betrayed by something about her personality.

Almost as if six knives have been made ready and conjured before their chest and then crammed right into it, that was the manner how it felt for the six of them. Though where the mares were heartbroken, Emerald felt himself let down, almost disappointed by her for some reason. “You, you’re nothing from the mare as I remember her, Rarity! Oh yes, it’s me. Say it, say my name you witch and feel the pain rushing through you again and again!” he brought out to her in sadness.

“Emerald, no!” shouted Twilight. It was too late for him, the attention of Nightmare Rarity had then turned itself over to him. She huffed out clouds of steam or darkness with every exhale that she did. Only then was the sheath discovered by the stallion. The very thing the mulberry unicorn herself had found not a mere two minutes before. All of the sudden had his plan to become the hero pressed right back into his hooves where it should have been in the dark unicorn her eyes.

“You have the guts, Emerald Masquerade, to come with the five of them and then to command me to do your bidding? You’re still the world's biggest idiot, just as I remembered you. You have your looks with you, I give you that much, but that’s all I’m giving you. Well, outside one another thing that is,” Nightmare Rarity spoke to him. She stood there with her legs still flaming like mad and kept her eyes firmly upon the stallion.

The events that happened next were an excellent learning master for Twilight. The horn of Nightmare Rarity charged itself up within the blue colored aura was the sword taken right out of the sheath and the very tip was set upon the chin of Emerald himself. It then forced the stallion to look actually right up into the eyes of the mentally twisted unicorn. “You wouldn't have the guts to slice my throat, Rarity. Always trying to find the middle way, you were,” Emerald taunted her, much to the pain of the other mares. Though they had to admit that he had guts. Stupid, but guts.

Yet once again it was only Twilight who dared to speak up against him. “Emerald, shut it up before she really kills you! Taunting her, doesn't exactly help any of us in this moment.”

“'Listen to the librarian’, is something I would say. She usually has it to the good end,” smirked Nightmare Rarity to him. She kept the sword firmly in the position. “Though I suppose, that death is the other thing I can give you. All of you, shall find your deaths at my hooves. You broke me, molded me into doing the deeds I have done and now… all six of you presented before me like it’s nothing. This day just keeps getting better for me.”

The unicorn erupted out in an evil snicker of her own. The others didn't have a single clue of what she was talking about. The blade was removed from the stallion’s chin, which caused only a minor cut to be made before it was sheathed again to her side and the magic discharged itself. The eyes of the dark unicorn opened themselves once more. She looked to each of them personally for a few seconds. Then she would have growled to them like an angry dog. The expression visible within the eyes was anger and anger alone. Whatever happened, she was pissed off at somepony, if not the whole horde of ponies she was looking at. “All six of you, will find your ends quick and swift.”

The words were spoken without any emotion in the tone and the more Twilight looked over to the mare in silence, the more she could be swearing the fact that she saw the doubt that was rushing through the mare. A doubt that she could be using to her advantage. Almost as if her entire personality had split itself and not for the better.

~~~~

All the way in the vault of Canterlot, while being hidden deep away under the city and within the mines were the two princesses looking at the elements of harmony with a worried expression. The four remaining necklaces and the tiara were irradiating unknown amounts of power towards one another. It almost seemed as if they were clinging to each other’s dear life.

Both Luna and Celestia watched over the events as they took place. They both thought about actually interfering with the events that were going on. Luna turned herself around to grab the armor of Nightmare Moon and wanted to place it all upon her body in a moment’s notice. The moment her magic surrounded the objects was the same moment when Celestia’s magic made it impossible to move any of the objects. It rendered it useless to grab the armor.

“No Luna, I can’t allow you to do that. She’s too dangerous to be released by yourself. Remember the last time you became her? Remember Nightmare Night? You almost lost control again and became her again,” Celestia spoke in a truly concerned voice to her sister. The last thing that she wanted to do, was to punish her sister again in becoming such a dreaded force for the land. But another option other than waiting they didn't have. The both of them knew that fact.

“Then what it is that you purpose sister? Waiting until they could have been slaughtered by her? You know that a lot of this mess could have been avoided if we had just been honest against them all. If we had said that Rarity had changed into a dark mare! But no, you wanted to keep your mouth shut against it and the more time you wait, the smaller the possibilities of survival became. You know it better than I do. So I ask you again, what it is that you purpose?” Luna almost hissed in a venomous tone towards her sister. During the whole ordeal of Nightmare Rarity, it was her who wanted to be out in the fields and actually discover the truth behind the horrors that were going on.

She had come closer to cracking the code. But the rather unexpected call of the elements themselves wasn't a thing either of the two had expected. “You have to let me do this, sister, otherwise there is not turning back from the inevitable. This, right here and now, is the beginning of the end and you know it. So I do not ask, I do not beg, I demand of you, let me go and let me do this.”

The celestial princess just released a deep sigh as she tried to keep her mind together with everything that had been doing on. Something about it all didn't seem to be right, but she wasn't exactly able to place her mind upon it. The thoughts raced through her mind while plans for the future were already made. A future in which the words of Luna were being ignored and perhaps, that was the biggest mistake of them all. “I deny that demand with every last fiber in my body, whether I’m dead or alive Luna. This, isn't, happening. We have to let Twilight and her friends sort this out without our interference,” Celestia spoke clear to her sister.

“Is this how you treat all of your students?! Just let them go on dangerous quests and actually cause them to be killed?! What is it with you, Celestia? what is it with you that after a millennium of time, you turned from that once so loving pony who loved the whole land, into a silent dictator who hides behind a… Ah, now I’m starting to see it,” spoke Luna while she discharged her horn. She looked her sister even deeper into the eyes. Suddenly had everything become clear for princess of the night. She could sum it all up in just one name. “Sunset, Shimmer.”

That name alone caused the alicorn of the day to lose a bit of her focus. She shook her head a little bit and then looked back into the eyes of her sister. “What do you mean, with her?” she then asked in a bitter and cold tone.

“That’s all I needed to know,” replied Luna before she planted a kiss upon the nose of her sister. She grinned like the little devil that she could be. Without making a further word or sound had she turned herself around. Only to have started to walk away from Celestia. A Celestia who had not a single clue of the things that were going on around her anymore. Everything just went blurry in her vision and she just turned herself around to view the cabinet in which the elements were stored.

“If you only knew, Luna,” the alicorn whispered to herself as she didn't look to the elements themselves but actually to the glass and the reflections that could be seen within it. One of them was that of a burned orange coated, fiery maned mare who almost erupted out in tears before she turned herself around and was lost in translation. “I’m so sorry, for everything.”

~~~~

“Boys! It’s dinner time!” Nightmare Rarity shouted towards the tower. She appeared to have regained every last bit of insanity that there was inside of her. Every last little piece of doubt was just gone from her mind and it was something that Twilight noticed as well. She needed to come up with a plan before the ‘boys’ would be appearing before them. Because most likely it would have been them that was standing on the list of dinner.

If there was one little thing that Twilight absolutely didn't wanted on that day, was to end up as food for some kind of twisted servant of the unicorn. “Oh Rarity, how could you have sunk so deep in life,” she whispered to herself. Then the eyes closed themselves for a second or two. She had to be in a secluded area in order to get everything out of her mind to come up with a plan.

Everything she knew was used to forge the new plan with. Though time was running out when she could hear the sounds of four new sets of hooves appearing before them all and the five others gasped in disbelief. There was only one thing that Twilight could have done. Which was to open her own eyes with care. To see what they were seeing, to see the terror that came.

With great care were they opened again and the mulberry unicorn looked straight up into the eyes of a savage stallion. “Oh no,” was the only thing that she could bring out by herself before the normal flight or fight instinct took over. The sheer looks of those hideous beings was something that terrified her more than anything. Yet there was one other thing that shot right back in her mind. One situation that she wanted to know. One thing that she had to know more than anything else at that moment.

She would have to defy death itself if she wanted to discover it, but it be in her mind and she would be getting an answer from her. “What, have you done, with my son?!” Twilight spoke loud enough that every single pony could have heard it, including the nightmarish unicorn. It were words that caused the entire domain to fall in silence. From the clouds and shadow stallion that held each of them against the ground up to the savages and the commanders. All became silent, for her.

The head of the nightmarish queen herself turned itself over to Twilight. She still regained that look of hatred in her eyes as well as a bit of confusion. “What, son, are you talking about here, Sparkle? From the things that I have gathered you always happened to be this nerdy librarian. You never even had the guts to speak to another stallion, let alone love one. So you might as well cut the act here and now. And consider your last words very, very carefully,” the queen replied to her.

Though the entire time that she spoke her words, it was noticeable that the eyes of the unicorn always made that turn to the left for the mulberry unicorn. Next to Twilight laid Emerald and almost as if they always were tracing off to him instead keeping them fixed upon her. “You know bloody well just who I mean with that, you witch! Where’s Spike?! What have you done with him?!”

~~~~

All of the sudden had she regained the full attention of the unicorn once again. That hateful glare continued to look at her while she huffed out another cloud of darkness. “Oh he’s gone already. Deader than dead and rotting in the depths of Tartarus! But don’t be saddened, you’ll be joining him soon enough,” spoke Nightmare Rarity towards Twilight with an unusual honest tone of her voice.

The words and the tone, combined were they already more than enough for the mulberry unicorn to start fighting against her tears. If Spike was truly dead, then there perhaps couldn't be anything that she could be doing against the unicorn who had caught them. The sheer amounts of sadness that flowed through her body managed to get the upper hand and she just erupted out in tears for a good set of minutes.

Tears that were of a true sadness. The same sadness that Rarity had felt when it became known to her, that her friends actually abandoned her because of her attitude. It was something that caused the dark mare to become emotionally troubled herself as well. Even though she had turned herself away from the mares, she still heard the sounds of Twilight. “Bring him to me,” she spoke up a few seconds after Twilight had ceased her crying.

They had to be strong if they wanted to survive the madness they got in. For all they had was one another and that was where they had to be doing it. The command given to get Emerald to her seemed like the best chance they had just yet. “It’s time to lure her out. Emerald, try everything that you will be having to get out the real Rarity, the true one. She’s still somewhere inside of it, but locked away. This, is your moment to shine,” whispered Twilight while the tears still streamed down of her cheeks as she wasn't allowed to dry them off. The stallion gave her a nod as he understood the job and just after she had told him the plan, he was being pulled up and actually released. A thing that caused each of the ponies to be genuinely surprised with it.

“What makes you think I don’t just run away?” the stallion asked to her. He approached the nightmarish unicorn with care. Doing exactly what Twilight had told him.

“They are a lot quicker than you are, so don’t even think about it,” replied Nightmare Rarity before the two were facing one another. The both of them looked into the eyes of the other deeper than ever before and all Emerald saw was indeed a being torn apart by town entities that were fighting to take control of the body.

“Suppose you trained them well,” the stallion said with a gentle smile. He tried to break the ice with the troubled being. Though it wasn't without any risks for his own life. If she figured out what he was doing, the plan was just gone through the roof and they would have lost everything.

“Very well indeed.”

“But, Rarity, look at yourself for a moment, everything you once were is just gone, reduced to nothing but a pile of ash under your burning legs. But, remember the phoenix we had in our biology class? They always rise back out of the ashes. You, need to be rising out of the ashes, sweetie. You, you still love me, don’t you? Somewhere deep inside of your body, you still love, me,” whispered Emerald in a genuine sounding tone. One that showed he wanted to help her, as well as showing compassion towards the unicorn. Two things that hadn't been shown to her in a very, very long time.

In response were the fires that still waged on the mare her legs being lowering. Up to the point where they were just nothing anymore. They ended up extinct from the world while a strand of mane fell before the eyes of the mare. What then followed was a gentle sniffing. It was before a near silent cry for help was released by her. Her head had then lowered itself to the point where the two touched one another.

Emerald brought his hoof over to her cheek and gently began to stroke it in the hope to comfort her. To comfort the dark mare who realized just how wrong she had been with her deeds. “It’s okay Rary, it’s all okay,” he whispered towards her, comforting her even more.

29 Friends united, and seperated

The soft sobbing of the dark queen was something none of the ponies had ever expected to happen. None of them even dared to dream about the facts as they were presented to them. But they were at least getting somewhere. They were getting where they needed to be. That was something that gave each of them a little bit more hope than ever in their time in the domain.

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rainbow all sighed in relief to the events while they continued. They believed that he had already done it. They believed in the very fact that Emerald Masquerade had managed to get real Rarity back out of the troubled mind of the beast. And it indeed seemed to be that way from their perspective. Though the things that were going on in the very mind of the dark queen herself, were impossible to actually gather a head around.

“It’s all alright, Rarity, let your tears just go for now. Cry everything that you want to cry.” Emerald spoke to her with a small smile visible below his muzzle. His genuine and honest words caused the ears of the unicorn to twitch ever so softly before the sobbing simply continued. Not even he could never have expected the fact that it would be packing out that way.

From stroking just her cheek he had wrapped both of his forelegs around the neck of the dark queen who held their foreheads together as if she was clinging to him for her dear life. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Emmy,” the unicorn replied to him every now and then through her tears.

“It’s alright Rary, we all make mistakes left and right, now don’t we?” he spoke up as a response. He shut his eyes for a moment. In his mind did the thoughts began to race through him and every wrong he had ever done in his life, suddenly just came back to him and everything could be pinpointed at one point in time. One point where everything went literally to hell for him.

“I should, I should have realized this sooner. You, are the one mare for me. The only one who actually managed to keep me on the straight path and, even if you can’t return to your old self… I don’t care. Even with these looks, you’re still as beautiful as ever,” Emerald replied in a semi truth. In his mind he also wanted to deal the final blow. To literally end everything that was going on in the moment. To end the reign of the dark queen herself once and for all, by his own hooves.

“You, you really think that, Emmy?” the mare asked. She dared to open her eyes for a bit and stared down into his for a few moments. The stallion himself gave a nod to her as he genuinely meant his words. Yet none could actually deny it, for even in the nightmarish shape that she was, Rarity still looked as beautiful as always.

Though there were two beings who weren't particularly fond of the entire operation, let alone the crying of their queen. Both Shadowfright and Shadowblood had been brewing a plan to separate the two of them. They wanted to let the merciless queen be the merciless queen. Though they had hoped that the savages had taken care of him by then. Somehow did those beasts remained silent. They only whimpered to themselves, like they felt the pain that the unicorn felt as well.

“It’s now or never, head on charge on him?” Blood asked almost in silence. He prepared himself to literally crash the events that were going on. Fright didn't reply with words of his own, but instead just gave a nod to them. That nod alone was more than enough for the two commanders to ‘save’ their queen from the fate that he was going to give to her. A fate that she never would be seeing again ever in her life.

With two roars of powers did they charge at the mare and stallion who only had an eye for each other. They didn't even knew just what was going on around them. The two of them seemed to be like a pair of lovebirds madly in love.

“No, no, no, no!” Twilight yelled up. She realized just what the plan of the two commanders was. She was one of the first to have seen it happen and caused the attention of the other four mares to be placed upon the two shadow stallions. Though none of them could be speaking a single word as they began to pray on the sun and the moon for a good ending of it all.

Both Fright and Blood continued with their charge as they had their aims for at nopony else then Emerald himself. They could almost taste his fears that laid locked away in the mind, if not the flesh of his body. With two more roars like beasts had the charge happened. All of the mares first went wide eyed before they closed their eyes again. None wanted to watch over the scenes as they would be happening. They didn’t wanted to know the ending of it either. Good or bad, didn’t matter.

Yet the sounds that fell in their ears wasn't the horrible screams of a stallion in need or a queen who regained her power all of the sudden. Instead it was the sound of something else. The sound of something bouncing off of a brick wall, or, as Twilight would be saying herself, “a magical force field. She, she placed them both… how, when?” The events couldn't be any stranger let alone the scene the mares would be looking at. For the things that they caught in their eyes was something none of them had ever expected to be seeing.

Slowly did the eyes of all the captured mares open again. What they got to see within them had to be one of the most magical moments that they ever would have witnessed in their lives. They were staring at a magical shield that was both sapphire blue and emerald green of color. One where the two shadow stallions had bounced off from.

Yet it was what was inside the shield that surprised the five of them even more. Not that alone though as both the savages as well as the commanders were just as surprised at the situation they were allowed to witness. For inside of that field were the mare and stallion exchanging a deep and powerful kiss with one another.

A kiss that had sparked the magic inside both of their body to create the shield. It was summoned to truly just leave them alone for the time being. Undisturbed and uninterrupted did they kept on exchanging the kiss fully upon the lips of one another.

Applejack and Rainbow had to gag a little bit before they turned themselves away from the scene as they weren't particularly fond in witnessing it. Pinkie and Fluttershy on the other end had just looked at the scene with a smile as it was just so beautiful to happen. Though the only one who managed to keep her head by the situation as it was supposed to be, was Twilight herself.

Her horn didn't irradiate any form of light or anything but it was still doing the readings in between the two of them. She wanted to be absolutely certain that whatever was going to happen –or happening even– inside of that shield, wouldn't terrible for either of them. Though the power of the shield was too much for her horn to slid itself in undetected. Twilight had to charge up her magic if she wanted to penetrate through it and that was just the thing that she couldn't be doing.

So the opportunity was dropped and the unicorn also continued to look at the scene a little bit more with a curious eye. She never paid attention to the stallion but instead to the mare herself. Treason was still a crime that could be committed and that was the very thing she was afraid of. There always was that lingering thought inside of her mind that Rarity could and would return to the manners she had been doing on for months by then.

“Oh no…” Twilight whispered to herself suddenly. She had a better look in the eyes of the unicorn during the kiss for just the fraction of a second. Though before each of them could be doing anything was the kiss between the two of them broken from the mare her side and the shield allowed itself to be dropped just like that.

~~~~

“Emmy…”

“Rary…”

The two of them looked into the eyes deeper than ever before. It even made the stallion forget just why he happened to be there, not to mention he lost track of her horn. A horn which had started to collect itself with so much magic. Twilight was thinking Rarity would be setting off some kind of bomb. A bomb of a magnitude that would not just destroy the domain, but evaporate the whole thing within a split second if she wasn’t careful. Never had she seen such power from Rarity.

“Love...” Nightmare Rarity started in a bitter tone towards him. A tone that got the attention of each of the ponies almost right away and they all looked once again to the mare. “Is such a dreadful bound. Yet so easily severed.” Within mere seconds had the insanity and hatred been flowing back through the eyes of the nightmarish unicorn as the stallion took a step or two back.

“W-What do you mean?! You can’t, you couldn't! I, I love you Rarity!” the stallion pleaded for his dear life. Even he finally seemed to be noticing just how much power there was stored inside of her horn. It terrified him just how much magic she had collected. He could be getting the full blow.

“You never loved me after high school. You let me there to crack in the gutter for all you cared! Never even a word from you, never a letter. All I had to be doing with were rumors I heard about you in the darkest parts of town. And before you open that pretty mouth of yours, I had figured out a long time what you would be coming to do here. Few here are actually that stupid. Hmpf, those five and then you? Could have meant only one thing,” Nightmare Rarity growled in a tone that seemed to be dripping with just venom alone.

“No, no you got it wrong! …Oh who am I kidding here,” Emerald spoke to her. He released a deep sigh through his nostrils. “Go on then, go and end your miserable love life. Just about the best you could be doing for me to begin with. Do it then, dark mistress of all! Do it already!” The tears then stood in the eyes of the stallion. He was getting more and more afraid that she would have done. He was terrified that she would eradicate him from the land of the living.

“Oh Emerald, I couldn't get rid of you, even if I tried. My heart has still too many scars from you and, you know the sad thing about killing a pony?” the nightmarish unicorn replied to him before her lips curled up to a smirk. “You can only do it once.”

The eyes of the stallion went wide. He couldn't believe what she just had said and what was actually going on. He repeated the word of no over and over against her. But none of them were heeded by her whatsoever. Instead he was treated with something that almost everypony within the walls of the domain had received by her. The near lethal dose of fear indoctrinating magic.

Screams of pain and agony were released by the stallion. He wanted it to stop more than anything in his life at the moment. The sheer pain that didn't just rush through his body, but through every last vein and nerve as well. All of it was used to make him suffer a thousand deaths almost at the same time in a thousand different manners. The fear of those thousand deaths made his heart race and race and race. Making it beat harder inside of his chest, almost at the point of failure.

All of the ponies that were still held down wanted to help him so much. They weren't even allowed to move a single muscle because of the shadow stallions. They could only be hoping on the fact that somewhere, she would be showing a bit of mercy. Something which she did in one way of the word. When the charge of the unicorn came to a hold, the horn began to smoke before the rest of the magic traveled away over her body, looking like it was a static discharge.

But Emerald, after having suffered the sheer fright of a thousand terribly deaths, just dropped to the ground and laid there unconscious. He was still alive, but just barely. “Fright, Blood, bring him to the dungeon and the same treatment shall be given to him like all the others. He’s going to be, my finest prisoner, my new favorite toy, shall we say,” the mentally twisted unicorn brought forth with a deadly snicker of her own. The two commanders executed the given order.

They both just walked up to the body and took it by the legs before they carried it off. While the others looked away in fright of their own or just not wanting to see the events, Twilight dared to keep her eyes open to see just where they would be bringing him.

Though the opportunity was not given. A beastly snarl was released from the unicorn herself. One that drew each of their attention right back at her. “You five, you five even had the guts to be thinking about a manner in which you could beat me, now didn't you? Well the only problem just happens to be that you are, a bit stuck remember?” The utter insanity and the overall monstrous charisma of the unicorn was a thing that caught them all off guard more than anything else. Yet nothing could prepare them all for the events that were still to come. “Any of you, wanting to speak some words of courage against me? Any of you actually having, the courage to speak those words?”

“Yes,” said Twilight Sparkle in a dead serious tone. She looked over to her friend and gave her nothing then a cutting look. If it were going to be the last words, she would have made them count.

“Then go on, Sparkle,” Nightmare Rarity whispered, “I’m dying to hear your words here.”

~~~~

It took Twilight some time and guts, but then she came with the words that she wanted to speak. “You, just made the biggest mistake of your entire little and pathetic life right here and right now!” Twilight spewed out. She tried to get out of the hold that was placed upon her at the same time. But she wasn't done with her words yet, far from it even. Instead she had just so much that she wanted to say against the nightmarish unicorn, that she needed to think just how she would be saying them.

“Spoken by the pony who dropped me like a stone,” replied Rarity in a cold tone. She took a couple of steps closer towards the mare with a grin. “You know, you dropping me was just about the best thing that ever happened to me. Makes me think just so much more clearer right now. Including on how to bring each of you personally to an end. But go ahead Sparkle, finish the words of hatred you wanted to speak to me.”

None of the mares even could understand one bit of the things that the unicorn spoke about and against them. They never even recalled that they dropped the friendship with the unicorn. Something like that never actually happened in their books. Perhaps and especially at the time it was better to keep themselves silent until Twilight was done.

Speaking of the mulberry mare, she looked right back in the cat-like eyes of the unicorn. The sheer hatred between one another was released and exchanged. “You just called upon yourself the armies of the day and night. Unstoppable when they work together. They will discover a way to get to you, and you’ll be put to trial for crimes against ponykind itself. The sentence, lifelong in jail. I shall personally make sure it happens, you hear me! For you, are no longer the Rarity we all knew and love to no end. No, you are something much more corrupted like that and I order you, to leave the body!”

She wheezed deep while she tried to fight back her own tears. Twilight gave everything that she had in her arsenal of words to dent the thick skull of the unicorn even for one little bit. “I name thee, Nightmare Moon! Perish from the body you took over and never return to these lands. You have nothing to search here anymore! Never had and never will. Be gone evil spirit of darkness, find another host on a different planet. Or get sucked into a black hole for all I care.”

The words seemed to be having an effect on the other unicorn. At the mere mentioning of the force that was supposed to have taken over the unicorn, did Nightmare Rarity gasp for air. She did a couple steps back before she reached for her heart. The thing that happened next within the body of the unicorn was that she seemed to be driving the dark force right out of her body.

All of the mares patiently and horrifyingly looked over to the scene. They heard the bones being snapped places they should have never been. Not to forget that the eyes went completely greenish blue. The pupils rolled to the back of her head which then only left those big empty voids of coloring to be stared at. It were those voids that actually scared the living daylight out of Fluttershy and Pinkie who began to scream in fear.

But then it came once more, that sickening sound where everypony had been waiting on to hear. That one sound that gave them a little bit of hope. The very sounds of the dark entity wanting to crawl out of the body of the unicorn. Yet the unicorn herself seemed to be having a set of different plans for the five of them and herself.

The sounds died down. Though never did the black goo leave the mouth of the mare. Instead she cut off the sounds that she made. Nightmare Rarity grinned towards each of the mares before she erupted in a deadly snicker. A snicker that was the same as the one they heard when the figure appeared on the moon. One that caused all of the doubts to be gone in a moment. Rarity was never truly taken over by anything, she was still perfectly by her mind and knowledge. “What have you become?” Twilight dared to ask. She couldn't believe the things that she was witnessing.

“I have become the very thing, where Nightmare Moon failed,” said Nightmare Rarity back to her. She returned to that smirking grin of hers after that. “And the five of you, should know something. Let the royals call upon their armies. I welcome them with open hooves even before I’ll be crushing them. If they wanted to wage a war with me, they shall be getting it in threefold. But, it requires the five of you to deliver the message loud and clear to the pretty princesses.”

“And what makes you think, we will just be doing that for you?! You just murdered your high school crush in cold blood!” Rainbow replied in a stone cold voice. Nightmare Rarity looked upon her with the grin still visible below her muzzle. A grin that made the pegasus shut up and cower a bit.

“Oh Dashie, that is something rather simple, really. Hold them perfectly still!” the dark mare bellowed. On the command was each of the ponies held firmly against the ground while the charging sounds of the mare her horn could be heard again. “The five of you, will never forget the message I’m going to give you, not until you have spoken them against the princesses themselves while they give you the fullest of attention.”

“But, but, but! If I may here for a moment!” Twilight exclaimed. She tried to postpone the end more than she already had. “What did you mean by, us dropping you like a brick? You never, you never told us that. Nor what you’re planning really.”

The nightmarish unicorn herself released a deep huff in response to the words of Twilight. She did have a point there for certain. But she also knew that telling them her ultimate plans would cause even more commotion. “Simple, I am going to succeed where Moon failed. The land shall never be shrouded in the darkness as she intended it to be. But as I intend it to be,” she then said.

“And what is that?! Ultimate eclipse or something?!” Twilight asked, terrified to hear it.

“Oh no, Sparkle. Think back to your nightmares, the answer lies in them,” grinned Nightmare Rarity. She then released the charge that had been collecting itself within her horn. In those few milliseconds before the impact had Twilight figured it all out. All of their dreams combined created the entire picture of the unicorn not to mention, the thing they were suffering from.

“Fears and frights, that’s it!” were the last words of the unicorn before she got zapped with the powerful and frightful magic of the dark unicorn.

~~~~

Each of the mares received the same amount of force from the unicorn and the images they would be witnessing wasn't something to be proud of if not being pretty towards. For when the charge hit their heads, they would all be reliving the very moment in which they broke their friendship with the unicorn herself.

Helpless were they all. That was with the exception of Twilight, who had figured everything out. She was prepared for the lies to come and relieved with only a slight headache. The same couldn't be said from the others though. As each of the remaining four ponies relived that day as if it had actually happened. As if that day had actually existed. Though the only reason of just why that spell was so powerful as it was, was only due to the fact that the unicorn believed it was true.

Her element had turned from generosity into fear. That was the very thing that fueled her powers. That day, that imaginary day of her friends breaking their friendship with her was the fear that fueled her might. Due to both Fright and Blood, the day seemed to have been the truth of everything. None could believe it, but it felt suddenly just so natural to each of them.

Tears were being shed while some called out to Celestia, cursing her name forever. They thought that it was her who had deleted the entire day out of their minds. If it only was that simple for everything to have gone. It also showed to them all just how feeble the mind was for the indoctrination techniques of the mare. A mare who had wrapped her hooves around their throats in a figural manner.

As gruesome as it seemed to be, it was something that Twilight seemed to be interested in. Though only because of the wishful thought that she could be beating it. Even though she was the only one who didn't actually believe the lies that they were being told, she still had to admit that it was a powerful piece of magic. One that nopony should have ever learned by themselves nor with the help of a dark force of some kind.

“Feel the pain you all have given me, feel the suffering that caused that pony to become this monster. Feel the hatred that is flowing through my veins and tell those good for nothing alicorns that I’ll be waiting for them. I’ll be the devourer of their troops, the cannon that takes out their ships. The fear of the night and day. The shadow in between everything. Nowhere is safe and nopony can hide. You five bear witness to the birth of a new power to rule this land, from behind the scenes.”

Then the charge was simply dissolved into nothing but just static energy again. The nightmarish unicorn released them all from her hold. One by one did the members of the elements lose their consciousness and blacked out on the spot. “Bring them back to their lousy little camp. They’ll be knowing what to do from there,” the mare spoke before she turned herself around. She then just walked away from the ponies without saying any other word or doing any other actions.

Mercy was granted to the five of them. But what cost should they be paying the price for?

~~~~

Hours seemed to have passed by before the eyelids of Twilight Sparkle began to twitch again. There was a light that shone down upon them. The mulberry unicorn released a soft moan before she turned herself away from the light. Then she felt the soft grass that she was lying in. It was a feeling that caused her to release a deep sigh of happiness and wanted to continue in her sleep. Weren't it for a little voice inside of her head that told her to wake up. Something didn't seem to be right and she needed to actually discover just what on earth it actually was.

The eyes of the unicorn opened themselves wide and far before she turned herself right side up and rose upon all four of her legs. “W-Where are we?” she mumbled to herself as she saw the body shapes of her friends but also took notice that they weren't in the domain anymore. Instead there was the sunlight that shone down proud on her face. “Wait a minute here.”

Without any doubt readable upon her face had the unicorn turned herself around. There she saw it standing in the fullest of glories. The tent that they had set up to spend the night through. So many emotions were flowing through her mind at that point. The mare realized just how lucky they all have gotten that they had actually escaped the grasp of the unicorn. At least, Twilight did that. She wouldn't be having a single clue on just how the others were doing.

But it didn't matter that much for Twilight in the moment. She wanted to let them sleep for a little longer, they would be needing it. So in silence did the mare charge up her horn. She once again had access to her magical powers and it felt just so good for her to actually have that ability back to herself. As it was the very thing that made her unique to the world she lived in.

Minutes simply came and went before the others one by one woke up. Twilight told each of them to sit around the campfire pit. Once they all would have woken up and the things had been packed, the urge of the situation would be explained to them all. Each of them and one by one would have agreed upon the matter. Resulting in them doing what was asked of them.

“Ah can’t believe Ah just dropped her like that,” spoke Applejack to the group. She looked to the three other ponies and they all nodded in response. “Ah mean, we should have remembered the things we spoke against her that day right? ‘Specially Twi, as she got those new saddlebags.”

They were blinded and genuinely confused by the words that were spoken against them, by them even. Though it was all because of the magical charge of the unicorn. None would believe that they just had forgotten the state in which their mind was in. Perhaps they didn't even wanted to remember the horror they had gotten themselves in, just because of that very reason? It was a fact that was actually quite saddening for the lot of them.

“But… why would we be doing that? I know she has an attitude, but that never was the cause of me wanting to break our friendship,” shared Fluttershy after she had gathered her courage again. She would have wiped away a few of her tears not much later.

“That’s because of the fact, we never spoke those words to her,” Twilight then spoke to them. She was just done with everything and joined herself with the group once again.

Though almost right away did she got weird looks from each of the mares. They couldn't believe the things that were spoken to them. “Explain yourself here, Twilight,” Rainbow asked of her. She didn't had a clue of what was going on and most likely wouldn’t understand it either.

“Yeah! Do it Twilight!” Pinkie then added before the unicorn released a deep sigh of her own and charged up her horn for something none of them even knew.

“Alright then, but the words I’m going to say may not make much sense to you, as they do to me,” stated Twilight before she took a deep breath.

“Beats just sitting here in the dark,” Applejack mumbled. She was willing to give it a shot.

“The charge that Rarity gave us all, wasn't something to make us remember something we had forgotten. Instead she implemented an entire new memory at the cost of another. All the events that happened during that day, are destroyed and replaced with the ones you have now. Truth be told, I need to extract that very memory for Celestia. It is as Fluttershy said, she had an attitude, but that never was the cause of breaking our friendship with such a wonderful pony. Now, hold still,” said Twilight before she prepared her horn.

~~~~

Neither Pinkie Pie nor Fluttershy struggled against Twilight while Applejack and Rainbow Dash formed the little problem. They didn't wanted to have the mulberry mare messing with their memories. In the end did they allowed her to do it. The very thing that came next was that Twilight’s magic was being released upon their minds and as they thought about the events, it would be taking them carefully from the mind.

Following up to the spell, she conjured a small container into existence where the corrupted memories would be placed in. A container that was locked with five magical locks to which only Twilight had the keys from. Even if one of the royals tried it, they wouldn't have been able to open it. “Alright girls, you should be safe again,” she said to her friends with a smile.

“What did ya just do with the lot of us?” Applejack asked. She rubbed her head a little bit.

“Simple memory extraction spell. She can play it dirty, but so can I. And that container is to hold them for Celestia to review them. We have been closer to her than anypony else and we have to bring it back to Canterlot as fast as we can,” Twilight returned to her.

“But, what about Emerald, Twilight?” Pinkie asked to her. She wanted to know the finer details for the stallion. Though in response had the mulberry mare released a deep sigh through her mouth. She had not even the slightest of clues on what she could be doing. Or even how they would have been able to help him within the situation that he was in.

“There’s only one thing that we can be doing girls. And that is tell the message to the royals. To go to Canterlot and tell both princess Luna and Celestia that we are at war with a former element of harmony. I’m sorry, but it is the only thing that we can be doing and the only thing that we should be doing,” said Twilight with a defeated tone. She wanted to do more, but couldn’t.

“And just how do you want to do that smarty pants?” Rainbow huffed out to her. She then crossed her forelegs over one another with a cutting glare towards the mare.

“I still believe that bits and pieces of Rarity have survived the merging. Nightmare Moon hadn't just taken over the body of Rarity like she did with Luna. Instead they seemed to have merged with one another. Two souls that became one at the cost of half of theirs. That’s why there are no wings and steamy mane. Oh she’s good now that I think of it. Still, even if we manage to get Nightmare Moon out of her, it means we only have half a Rarity as we knew and love her. The only question is, which half we would be getting?” explained and wondered Twilight at the same time.

“So basically, what you’re telling here is that, Rarity needs to die?” Rainbow then returned straight back at her with a raised eyebrow. It was madness itself that spoke. It couldn’t be right.

“Depending on which side of her we get, perhaps. Look, I’m still working things out here even as we speak and not even I have all the answers even if I would have liked them,” Twilight replied before she stood up. A deep sigh that left through her nostrils. “All that I know for certain is the fact that somehow, somewhere, both Nightmare Moon and Rarity have merged together instead of taken over. And that means the danger is more imminent than ever. Think what Moon can do with Rarity’s mind for warfare. That creative mind of hers can be used to make plans to capture hundreds and weapons of mass destruction. War is coming, one way or the other. Whether it be big or small, I honestly can not say against any of you. Now move it!”

Each of the mares was heartbroken by the words that Twilight spoke to them. Yet they could always clearly see just where she came from with them. It were words that frightened them more than anything they could have ever imagined.

Though they did the thing that was asked from them. Each of them took their saddlebags before the massive sprint and gallop towards Ponyville would be made by the five of them. From there they would be going unto the train to Canterlot. “One way or the other, danger never seems to cease here in the land of harmony,” Twilight whispered to herself. She was at the head of the convoy of mares and led them away from the woods with a powerful gallop. “Funny, when you think of it.”

~~~~

In Canterlot it seemed that the two royal sisters were still bickering against one another. They were still in the matter of what seemed to be the most potential plan of attack against the threat. They were oblivious to the fact that the elements were already coming their way, together with the terrible news they carried with them. Though it was Celestia who looked over to Luna with a stern look clearly visible upon her face before the huff was actually released. “If you speak that name one more time, I will personally make you shut it for the rest of your life,” she spewed to her sister.

“Did you forget, I’m still immortal like yourself, sister,” replied Luna with a sharp tone of her own. The two of them stood before the window and looked at the rising moon and the lowering sun. The both of them were completely coated in the aura of her magical charge as the ancient ritual was done once again. The ritual of the day turning into the night.

“Oh I didn't forget that sister, not one bit. Would be quiet though, maybe a little too quiet if you ask me,” Celestia replied to her. She released a deep sigh and gave the conversation a hold to it. She didn't even want to speak further about it whatsoever. Everything had become clouded for her.

“Seems like I got you check once more. I would choose my next words very carefully if you don’t want to be set mate,” added Luna with a small grin. The aura disappeared from her body and she stared at the beginning of a new and beautiful night.

A night in which almost everything could happen. “The calm before the storm is approaching upon us all. Soon enough the end of everything shall begin, if it hasn’t already,” Celestia spoke all of the sudden. It were words that caught Luna off guard. Perhaps more than she ever could have expected. The lunar alicorn of course wondered what was being meant by them, but the question was never asked. It wasn’t the place to have done it, not yet at least.

~~~~

In the meantime and deep in the domain of the nightmarish unicorn, Nightmare Rarity found herself standing before a place that she had added recently to her home. A place that laid even deeper than the dungeon itself. If the prisoners looked down from their cells, they could see it in the fullest of glories already. Escaping was made impossible for them from that moment onward.

Nightmare Rarity stood before the door that would be leading to the place and inside she heard the oddly peaceful snoring of a creature. One that was many times bigger than her alone. A creature that would have been her new weapon of mass destruction. One that she knew just so well and had the full control over. With great care and silence was the door being opened. She slipped through it before closing it again. She wanted to be alone with her greatest asset.

And there it then laid while being chained up around the neck and peacefully asleep. One of the very few pure crystal devourers. A race of dragons that were told to be the most legendary of them because of their ability to not just find gems, but also consume them and use the color to gain elemental powers. He was most dangerous and supposedly the last of its kind, yet she had one. “Spikey, Wikey,” the unicorn spoke up with a sickening grin. “It’s time to wakey wakey.”

Since she managed to get her hooves upon him, she had corrupted the baby dragon and let him grow into the monster that was lurking beneath the domain of the mare. An always hungry and greedy dragon that would only be doing the bidding of her mind. One of the deadliest combination and most valuable assets that unicorn would have had in the upcoming war to be waged.

She walked up closer to the massive dragon. With care did she began to stroke one of the massive fangs that stuck out from the lips. The unicorn would be having him to her aid in the siege on Canterlot itself. While she stroked his fang, the words in the tongue of the dragon were whispered to him. Only seconds before she gave one of the scales of the upper lip a small kiss. Then her own lips curled up into a sickening and twisted grin. “You know what to do.”

30 The brink of war

The train left Ponyville at the designated time. The mares could all be found in a private cabin once again. Twilight tried to make something out of the troubles that had been happening to each of them. She held the small container of the thoughts before her eyes. Something about it continued to trouble her mind more than anything. But when she looked back and over to her friends, they all had taken the opportunity to fall asleep just for that little bit of time again. With Pinkie Pie having snuggled up against her. Applejack sitting right across her, leaning against the window with Fluttershy almost on her back. While Rainbow herself just hung against the wooden door of the cabin. Each of them were vast asleep and Twilight herself released a small sigh of happiness.

It was odd considering the horrible fact that they hadn't come out with Emerald himself. But she knew that he couldn't be saved, especially with the manner that they were brought out of the woods. It only seemed like the business of a madmare to just dart back straight into the forest of terror. “I’m sorry Emerald, but you have to keep strong if she keeps you alive. You’re a strong stallion, I have figured that much out about you. I just hope that you have been able to figure it out for yourself,” Twilight spoke towards the outside world. Her head had torn itself away from the container for a little moment. She just gazed upon the outside world for a bit longer. After that would she placed the small container back on the table and discharged her horn.

The mulberry mare herself needed to have some sleep as well, she was tired and needed to get every last single fact straight before she would be meeting with her mentor. So she snuggled herself up against the couch, Pinkie Pie and the window of the cabin before her eyes were finally giving the closure that they needed.

When the train finally did roll back into the station of Canterlot itself, all five members of the elements were awaited by a group of royal guards. It was a thing that surprised everypony. “Uhm, not that I don’t mind the gentlecolts standing here but, you are going to escort us to the castle, aren't you?” Twilight asked to one of them. One who seemed to be the captain of the group.

“That is correct ma’am, you and your friends need to come with us immediately if you want to stay out of the wrong hooves,” he replied in a low tone to her. The others gave a simple nod to it all. Before they could actually argue against themselves or the guards were they off towards the castle in the distance. The castle where everything wasn't what it seemed to be. Never had been.

“Sooo...” Rainbow Dash started against one of the guards with a grin, “you like it that you have to escort the mythical embodiments of the elements of harmony towards her majesties?”

“Ma’am, I would appreciate it if you keep your mouth against me. They told us you were the cheeky one,” the guard next to her replied. He wouldn’t have fallen for her words.

“Hey! Who you calling 'cheeky' here?!” Rainbow replied with a small growl. Then she went silent against the guard. Each of them erupted in a giggle against their friend. One that was well meant, but never well received. Though with the words spoken and exchanged, had the silence between the elements and the guards returned. Twilight nor Rainbow nor any of the others, had anything else that they wanted to speak to the ponies and in silence and convoy they wandered over towards the castle of Canterlot.

~~~~

“Even with everything you just told me just yet, Twilight, we’re not going to mindlessly set in the charge against her. Everything that she has done just doesn't enough for us to call out the armies,” princess Celestia said to the group of ponies. She had listened to Twilight’s explanation of everything that happened after they left the empire. To say the least, all of the mares were surprised, if not becoming discouraged before starting to boil in their anger. “I know it’s not the thing that you wished to hear and I can understand that completely actually. But you also have to understand the fact that if we go there with our armies, it is actually what she wants us to be doing,” the princess added to her words. Her eye went over each of the ponies with a careful glance.

“I, I start to see your point princess,” mumbled Twilight before she left the small container upon one of the tables. While Celestia sat upon the throne, Luna on the other end was just wandering through the room. Though she did listen with attention to the words spoken and those exchanged, even if it seemed like she didn't pay attention. Not to mention that she was furious as well about the fact that Celestia didn't wanted to attack. Having seen up close just what Nightmare Rarity’s magic was capable of, it was perhaps for the better not to. Doubts filled her body.

“Still," the alicorn of the night spoke before she turned her body towards them, "it goes without any form of saying that the very loss of mister Masquerade is a heavy one. But also one that isn't actually for nothing. Twilight, the stories you just told made me believe that something isn't as it seemed about the unicorn. And I think you know just as well as I do, that something must have gone wrong at some point or the other.” She walked over to the container and had a look at it with a couple of odd expressions visible upon her face. “You forced them… into this? Interesting if I may say so. But let me guess, it wasn't my sister who taught you that spell, am I right?”

It was a compliment that made the mulberry mare blush a little bit before she let out a giggle. She then nodded towards the mare to confirm her words. “Good girl, telling the truth when it needs to be, against the right pony. Either way, if you managed to get the memories of how Rarity implemented them in there, I think that both Celestia and I should be experiencing it for ourselves sooner or later just to witness what has been said and done to get each of you so spooked.”

“And allow me to finish with these words,” the alicorn of the day spoke up as she looked down upon each of the mares with a calm eye. “You’re allowed to return to your homes and live your lives as you see fit for that. But make no mistake my little ponies, the woods of White Tails have become an invisible battleground. Never, ever, wander there as long as she is still out there. When we have a plan of attack ready, we shall give you the call.”

“And risk another chance of being knocked out for a week or two?! Not in a million years, princess. I don’t know about the rest of the girls, but I’m not going to sit back at home and pray I wake up the next morning. I’m staying here and that’s final,” countered Twilight almost right away. She remembered the previous events in which they indeed did suffer their nightmares like that.

It weren't words that either of the princesses could be saying something against as the mulberry mare always kept her hoof firmly to the ground. “Alright then, then I suggest you return to the guestroom for the time being,” replied Celestia to them. She released a deep sigh through her nostrils and rubbed her head a little bit. Every bit of information and word that was spoken against her caused her to become a little bit more light headed. Luna noticed the sudden changes before she shook her own head lightly before guiding the mares over to the guest room herself. Something that provided just a little bit of little, social, interaction with the ponies.

When they walked through the hallways of the castle with Luna to their side, it still felt like each of them had left somepony important behind there back in the horrible domain. Perhaps the part that crushed each of their hearts the most, had to be the thing that there wasn't anything that they could have done for any of them. Not for Rarity, not for Emerald and not even for Spike.

Twilight sniffled away a tear or two before Luna started to walk next to her and gave her a rather concerned expression. “You alright, Twilight? You look like you have taken the hardest hit of them all,” Luna whispered quietly towards the mare, before getting a simple nod in response.

With both courage and strength being gathered by the pony, was the reply spoken by her. “I think, I think I have yes. None of them have lost somepony that seemed to be like a son to them. I know I’m too young to have actual foals of my own and such. But next to growing up with Spike, I also took care for him like a mother. Like any good mother would be having. And I let him go, I let him go into those dreaded woods where she laid in wait for him. Princess, does that, does that does that make me a bad mother?” Twilight would have said to her.

At those very words stood Luna still together with Twilight. She gestured towards the others to continue. The two of them required to have some time alone. From the looks in the unicorn's eyes, they needed that more than anything right there. While the others continued walking, Luna wrapped both of her forelegs around the neck and back of Twilight to give her a massive hug. Only to have the mulberry mare burst out in even more tears then she already was. “No Twilight, it doesn't make you a bad mother. Far from it, even. But in these times we all do things we regret one point in time or another. I promise you upon the moon itself that Spike will return to you alive and well. I promise you that not as a princess to you, but as one of your dearest friends.”

“T-Thank you, Luna.”

~~~~

Days crawled by for the unicorn deep inside of the domain. Days she was simply waiting for any form of reply that could be given by the very royals of Equestria. Something just wasn't right whatsoever. The royals were supposed to go into a blind charge as she had expected them to be. If the charge would have already happened, then they would have been at war already.

Pondering her mind upon the throne of her domain, the unicorn released sigh after sigh. The queen keeps her eyes shut from just about everything that there was around her. There wasn't anything in which she believed anymore at that time. Other than the fact that they were trying to get to her one way or the other. And it was that point that caused her to be doing the actions she had done for the past times against the stallion himself. Locked away in a private cell and hung on chains, he wasn't even given the liberty or opportunity that to just wander around and about in his own cell.

“You are going to tell me, just what it is that those ponies have told to you for their plans,” snarled Nightmare Rarity to nopony. She then finally opened her eyes again and walked down the steps of the throne. Both Fright and Blood gulped loud when they heard the queen coming down, coming their way. But they never dared to turn their attention away from the wall in front of them. It was only after she had passed them that they also came back to life and actually walked behind her.

“Your highness, just what is it that you want to achieve by taking more out of him then he has already told you. Nothing in his mind seemed to be looking towards the thing that he knows anything,” Fright stated to her. All three of them ascended upon the stairs for the courtyard. Though a response from the mare wasn't something he would be getting anytime soon.

Only when the queen had set herself in the courtyard itself did she turn herself around. The mare huffed deep towards the two of them. The shadow stallions were still coming up from the stairs and gulped deeply as they looked directly into her eyes. “You two morons never saw the bigger picture of everything, now did you? He has the information that we’re looking for. But the only problem happens to be, that there is a spell that has locked that crucial part of his mind. Twilight’s good with magical locks, but I know exactly just how to break them open to my own will and that is exactly what I am going to be doing. For more than a week I have been dying to figure out just what happens over there in Canterlot. Never seen anything here in the woods, never even sensed them.”

The more she spoke her words, the more fear could be witnessed in the eyes of the two shadow stallions. The words that she spoke against them in that hateful tone of the unknown, was the thing that frightened them all. If there was one thing that Nightmare Rarity couldn't stand even one bit, had it to be the fact that if she didn't know a thing of what was going on. That was one of the very few times that she was at her most dangerous. Her with no knowledge, always meant trouble.

“Of course, your highness, I shouldn't have doubted your mind. Is there, anything else that you require of us two before you descend to him again?” Fright questioned in a humble tone to her. He then made a polite bow before the queen. Blood did the same but he remained in silence. That way he hoped to avoid her fury.

“Outside of the usual, there isn't anything that I’m needing from you two fools. Continue upon your daily duties and make sure that nothing enters or leaves without me knowing that isn't a nightmare force. Am I clear?” the queen hissed in a venomous tone towards them. Her eyes then just focused themselves upon Blood for the moment.

It took him a few seconds to find his courage again. Then he spoke up against her in his deep tone. “As glass,” was all he said. With those words had the two of them merged themselves to their clouded form. After which they began to just wander through the domain. The unicorn herself released one last huff towards the two of them before she made the descend down towards the dungeon in order to find the pony she had been looking for.

~~~~

One that was safely locked away in the room where usually the sickening experiments were to be done. He had been stationed there and received full charge after full charge of magic straight into his brain. It had caused him to lose his mind and thus become both deluded and insane. He even began to live in the other dimension that was created by his very own fears. Not a single break was granted to the stallion. He was reduced to nothing but a hump of meat with skin on it. Somehow he managed to survive it all, but only because she allowed it. Somehow, he still held value to her.

When the door opened again had the stallion looked up from his position against the wall. He tried to move all four of his legs on the chains a little bit. As per usual, there was not a single grain of motion given to him. The chains were just too tight to do anything against them. In his eyes he saw the mob boss he owed perhaps thousands of bits walking in. With a smirk below the hat he wore did he wandered further up to Emerald. “I can set you free lad, all you have to do for that, is to give me the information that I want out of the skull of yours. The information that the mares gave to you,” he spoke up to him. He wanted to bargain with the poor Emerald.

Though the reality of the situation was that Nightmare Rarity just stood before him. Emerald’s mind would have created the images of her being the mob boss. So far was he gone thanks to her magic. Only one subject in her history who was known to have descended that deep into the madness that she could and would create for any living pony. That pony was nopony else then Astral Chrome, who was one of the first pony to die of actual fright within the walls of the asylum.

“You gotta kill me before I say anything to you, because I don’t know what they have planned. I have been tell you and your clowns that since the beginning. I don’t know what it is that they have planned!” Emerald replied as tough as he could. Though the support he was set upon wasn't anything that did him any good. If anything, it made him worse.

“Then you ain't of use for me anymore. Time to pull the plug outta you,” the mob boss replied to him. The other stallion turned himself back around and began to walk away from him. The thing that followed was the wailing sounds of the stallion erupting out in tears. The sounds that the unicorn had be waiting for as she knew that she had finally broken him. His mind was shattered into a thousand pieces and send to oblivion itself.

“You can’t do this to me! You can’t do this to a stallion like me!” were the last words that the nightmarish unicorn heard. After those had she left the room alone and stood in the normal dungeon of the domain. The door was flung shut with a loud crash while she eyed all of the other prisoners.

All of the ponies were looking at her with a frightful expression upon their faces. But none dared to crawl back into the shadows of their cells. That was until the unicorn grinned like the devil that she was and spoke her single word, “boo.” In response to just that, had each of the ponies crawled into the deepest and darkest corners of their cells as quickly as possible. They curled themselves up into small balls while they heard the unicorn chuckling to herself and then she seemed to be making her departure from the place. But instead of going back up, she went even further down into the catacombs of the dungeon.

Satisfaction wasn't exactly a thing that was flowing through the unicorn at that moment. She still didn't have any clue of what the remaining elements would be doing or what they had planned for her. All the information she got out of the stallion were things that she already knew. So perhaps it was time to cause a bit of action through the land. The curtain would fall and brute force used. “No more shadows, no more tricks, no more nothing. Stone cold action should be drawing them all out of their hiding places right there and then,” the queen of nightmare rambled up against herself. She kept on descending from the stairs until she stood at the door that led to the corrupted Spike.

With one simple flick of her horn did the door open itself. She was allowed to go inside and visit him again. The dragon himself looked down to her with a confused gaze in his eyes before he assumed a more regal posture. “You’ll be doing a fine job to one of the near settlements of the woods. You’re going to lay it in the ashes and burn every last pony in there. Destroy their homes, consume their values and remember this, leave none alive, understood?” Nightmare Rarity spoke against the massive crystal devourer. Who released a loud roar to her in response.

“Fly Spike, spread your wings and wreak terror in my name!” With those words were the chains around his neck broken. The dragon crawled around upon all four of his legs. Only to start walking through the darkness and out of the room. “This shall become, the day of the darkened skies.” Only after that had the unicorn turned herself back around and left the cell of her biggest pet. She would have gone back topside in order to watch the events unfold right before her eyes.

The opportunities that were given to her were some of the most beautiful that she ever seemed to have had. All of it would be a great call for the royals attention to focus the unicorn directly and thus stop the planning. That was the only goal she had. To lure the royals come for her both unprepared and unarmed. Though the latter seemed to be quite impossible. The mare herself would be standing on top of the tower once more. She stood upon her balcony even before the sun was blacked out by something massive for a second or two.

The very thing that had blocked the sun, was nothing else but the dragon himself. The settlement had been chosen, the lives had been doomed and the onslaught could begin. “Watch, and learn your highness's. Watch, and learn as your world burns in the flames of hatred,” were the final words to be released from the unicorn.

~~~~

With a massive and loud roar of pure, primal power did the savage beast turn topside in the lands. It spread its black wings even further before it just jumped into the air and flew away. Another roar with smoke that left the nostrils was given by it while it flow over the domain. The beast was heading towards the settlement a couple dozen miles away from the woods. A settlement that was literally just the start of a new city. All of the houses were made out of wood and the ponies that lived there were hard working but good folk. The only real problem happened to be, that they lived right upon one of Equestria’s largest gem-pits.

That was the one thing that caused the beast to set his nose towards it. “Crrrystal,” it spoke up before another loud screeching roar was given and the wings were flapped even more. With its strong tail, hind legs and wings did the beast looked like a true terror in and of itself. Though the most striking fact was that it had to be the ability to stand in a bipedal pose. That sight alone was more terrifying than anything in the world. Even though the arms were short, they could still help the beast to crawl forward on the ground. Then there was the elongated neck before it ended in the massive jaw with the sharp and thick fangs. Death from above had never been more true for anypony who gazed its eyes upon the monster.

Inside of the settlement that was protected by a few wooden walls that surrounded the whole place, were two guards standing in one of the towers and looked over to the beast. Neither of them couldn't believe their eyes and had to blink a couple of times before the realization struck them. Almost immediately was the signal then given to the rest of the guards that danger was on the way. The bells would have started to alarmed chime. All of the ponies that were in the streets knew that that only meant one thing, trouble had come for them. Danger was knocking at their very doors.

Fillies and colts were plucked out of the streets and brought into the houses for safekeeping. Nopony cared whether to not they had foals or not, or even if they took the ones from the neighbors into their homes. The community knew one another well enough to trust them with such things and with danger lurking literally in the skies they didn't complain at all.

The guards all saw that every single soul had gone inside in almost a record time. But it meant that they were the first and perhaps only line of defense before the massive best would be hitting them. It was a price they had to pay but they would only fight back the moment that the beast itself, would be attacking himself.

For just a moment or two did everything seemed to be going perfect. The beast seemed to be flying over instead of diving straight into the settlement to start digging for the pits. “I've never seen a dragon like that, you?” one of the guards asked while the other shook his head to confirm the thoughts. “So this, is going to be interesting.” Before they could reply to one another, would Spike have clustered himself against the face of the mountain and tucked his wings back against the body. The black scales combined with the poison green spikes over his entire body was more than enough fuel to give the residents to have nightmares for weeks. If anypony was so brave enough to actually look at the massive beast in the first place.

The thing that happened next, was a near deafening roar that came straight from the beast before it dropped itself down into the settlement itself. The wall that was built against the side of the mountain was destroyed in an instant as the dragon turned himself around and the tail actually smashed the second floor of a building. “Hungry… Crrrystals!” Spike said in a deep and tone over all of the settlement. Every pair of ears inside of it could be hearing it loud and clearly. Some of the residents already began to say their prayers as they had lost all the hope already. Bandits and raiders they could beat without a problem, but an ancient beast his size seemed to be impossible and most didn't even wanted to take the chance.

Deep inside of the belly of Spike had the fires already started to burn. They were traveling over to the mouth of the beast with a slow rate. Only to be released like a massive flamethrower over the wooden houses. The green fires of Tartarus were more than enough to make certain that everything it touched, burn until it was leveled with the ground itself and nothing else. The guards in the towers couldn't be doing anything against it. They wanted to do something of course but there was nothing other than leading the evacuation out of the place. It was a desperate gamble but it had to be made. They all knew that and they started to gather their guts to lead the exodus.

“Zu’u zoor zun! Zu’u fin ved dinok!” Spike bellowed towards the villagers. Then he released another flamethrower-like blaze of fire. His wings then spread themselves and he got back up in the air for a moment. Only to be dropping himself back down again. He would have crashed into one of the houses with his feet, leveling it with the ground.

~~~~

While the dragon kept himself busy with one part of the settlement and not to forget the guards that were trying to keep him distracted, there was still something inside the mind of the beast continued to bobble him. He was ordered to leave no survivors to make the statement clear to the royals. Yet why do it felt like they were getting away from him? Even though he was blasted with magic from all sides of the wall, the crystal devourer still turned himself around, noticing the exodus that was going on. That sight alone of the ponies getting away from him caused the rage to be flowing more and more than anything in his mind and belly.

The guards knew it was too late in the back of their heads. The hearts just wouldn't believe it and they just continued upon getting the job done. Even if it would be costing them their own lives. The tail of the beast had already taken out one or two of the guards before he got airborne again and kept on flying higher in the skies. Some of the guards that were helping to get the ponies out of the settlement were already looking up at the shape going higher and higher into the skies.

Though when he blacked out the very sun above the area where the refugees were walking, all of the eyes were suddenly looking straight at him. A sight that made them freeze there upon the spot in terror. None of them had ever expected that their lives would be coming to an end in such a manner. None of them even could have imagined that. Stallions, mares, fillies, colts and foals were all frozen in fright that the dragon. He would have made the descend back down to the ground with a crushing speed. With his belly irradiating the green color of his flames, they all knew that there was only one thing to come for them and gently they all accepted it.

None of the citizens would be running away, none of them would even attempt that. They all would be finding their death at the maw of the infernal creature of old. “Ag ko fin toor!” Spike shouted to the participants of the exodus before the fires were released over them.

The screams of agony and pain were all like music to the ears of the beast as he kept on going until every last bit of flesh wasn't just cooked or charred. It had to be disintegrated before he turned back to the settlement in order to finish the rest of his job.

Mere minutes later was the entire job done and everything in the settlement was destroyed. The monstrous crystal devourer in which Spike had been morphed, had released one last massive roar. One that could even be heard in Canterlot Castle if he had luck. Plumes of black smoke were released from his mouth to mix with the natural smoke of the burning wood. The signal for the castle couldn't be anymore clearer and he knew that he had done his job perhaps more than well.

Though among the rubble there was one last guard who dared to look at the beast with a couple of coughs. Still alive but only barely, he managed to get the full attention of the beast. The head of Spike lowered itself towards him before the words were spoken. “You may have crushed and destroyed us all, but you’re nothing when it comes down to our species. You have conquered the gem-pits for your own greed, dragon of old, but at the cost of every last pony that lived here. You killed entire families! What do you have to say on that, eh?!” the guard spoke up with every last bit of his guts gathered. After that did the cough came again. He faded in and out of life, looking at him.

Spike released a deep exhale at first. Then he eyed the wounded guard with an expression of even more greed. “Dir… Die,” he then said towards the guard. His head retreated itself backwards to the original height. The right leg got moved a little bit before the feet stumped right upon him. Not even the breath of his fire was given to the poor soul to come to his end. Instead, he had each of his bones and organs crushed by the massive scaled foot of the best. “I am, your worst nightmare.”

~~~~

“Sister, look outside now!” Luna said in a genuinely worried voice. She came from the balcony, galloping back into the throne room. After having send the elements back to their chambers to spend the day as they pleased, the alicorn of the night could be found meditating upon the balcony and she, was actually the first one to notice the terror.

“Luna, what is it this time?” Celestia asked of her almost jokingly. Though something inside of the voice caused even her to be worried about the facts as they were. “Another ladybug that managed to sit down upon your nose during your time of meditation?”

“If it only was sister, if it only was,” replied Luna. Celestia calmly made her way over to her. Together they both stepped onto the balcony. With their mane of essence waving unchanged to the wind, the two princesses looked over a sight that they couldn't believe themselves. For as they both stood at the edge of the balcony had Celestia to blink nearly a couple dozen times before she could actually believe the events as they had been playing out before them both.

“This, this isn't happening for real now is it?” she even asked as a confirmation. Then the roar of the dragon reached them. That triumphal roar of power alone was more than enough for Celestia to go even wider eyed. Even with just one of her eyes visible, she knew they were big trouble and the eye showed it from every possible side. “They are supposed to be extinct!” she stated.

“You, you mean the dragons? What kind of dragon is it then, as I have never heard something like that before in my life,” said Luna to her. She managed to tear away her attention from the scene and she looked over to Celestia with a worried expression. “Sis, tell me, what was that?”

“That, Luna, was the roar of a Crystal Devourer. A species of dragon that should have gone extinct while you were on the moon. Not by my choice or actions, mind you. But they formed a big threat to the Crystal Empire’s very existence. They are the only kind of dragon who don’t just hoard values but even eat them. Gems, specifically,” explained the elder sister.

Almost as if she knew it did the eyes of Luna went wide. She made a sudden realization if not an entire revelation. “Spike! Spike, eats diamonds and gems. Oh, no, no, no, this isn't happening! Tia, tell me that this isn't happening! I promised her! I promised her!” she said terrified.

But the alicorn of the day knew exactly just what it was what Luna was talking about and she closed her eyes for a moment and hung her head low. “Spike, is a crystal devourer, sister. So the chances are likely that, he is the one who wrecked all those poor ponies their houses and set it all ablaze. How could have been so blind to not see it coming?! Especially from a mare like herself!?” Celestia mumbled up to herself before she rose her hoof into the air and just stomped the floor below her. “How could we have been so blind?!” she shouted afterward before her body was turned away from the scene and the eye closed itself off from the world.

But where Celestia began to mourn about the losses that were suffered, Luna was having more than enough of literally everything that had happened. First it was the ponies going just crazy, then it was one of her longboats being destroyed, before Twilight and her friends returned without the stallion. She was having more than enough of everything and the end was getting closer and closer for her. “I don’t care what you’re gonna say, Tia, but this time you listen to me and me alone for a change. It is time that we take up our arms and finally bring the fight to her and her alone. Don’t even try to stop me,” Luna growled to Celestia. After that she spread her wings and took off into the skies. Whatever she had planned, Celestia of course couldn't agree with at all.

Luna was the only one of the two royals sisters who would be having some guts to take the fight to the dark queen and her alone. Inside of her mind was the plan being forged and even if Celestia didn't wanted to partake into it, it was still going to happen. If Nightmare Rarity could play the game dirty, so would the alicorn of the night. The box of tricks wasn't emptied yet. For there was one massive trick that still needed to have been done. One that could have helped them all.

Though the alicorn of the day was completely immobilized. That was until Luna landed back upon the balcony. Uncertain of just what her sister had done or even where she had gone, Celestia opened her eye once more and she looked towards her sister as if she could cry. Yet the face of Luna didn't show off any emotion whatsoever. Instead she just walked up to her elder sister and moved up to her ear to leave a whisper into it.

The eyes of the alicorn looked up a bit confused before Luna moved herself backwards just a little bit and spread her wings once more. “Say those words against her, those exact words, whenever the dark queen appears before the throne, for whatever reason. I won’t have it that more lives are being taken into this pointless battle and quest of hers,” Luna spoke firm against her sister.

“I still don’t understand it, Luna, what it is that you are going to plan to be doing?! What do you know that I don’t know!?” Celestia called out to her younger sister, who had made herself airborne. The two of them exchanged a couple of stone colds looks between one another before Luna released a deep sigh through her nostrils and closed her eyes for a moment or two.

“Let’s just say that you need to place some more trust into me for once. I’m no longer the loose cannon I was before, Tia. No longer am I that little goofball that snuggled up against you during the stormy days back when we were young. That is what you fail to realize. You fail to realize the fact that I too have grown older, wiser and more powerful. I understand that you want to protect us all, but you have to share that burden with somepony you can trust the most,” said Luna to her sister in an honest tone. She took another deep inhale before finally revealing her plan. “I’m going to end the very thing that she has started. A thing that should have been done long ago.”

Before Celestia could even reply to those words, was the alicorn of the night just gone. She had just taken off back into the skies for whatever reason there might have been. Though just when she thought that she was alone upon the balcony, did that recognizable trot of Twilight Sparkle could be heard coming on the balcony. “Princess, w-what is going, what’s that fire in the distance?”

“That, my dear and faithful student Twilight...” Celestia brought to her before she turned her head away from the unicorn. It would have been aimed towards the rising column of smoke in the distance, “is the brink of war, we’re currently standing on.”

31 The beginning of the end

Both Celestia and Twilight watched over to the column of smoke that continued to rise from the destroyed settlement. The eyes of the mulberry unicorn turned themselves over into the unbelievable. Never in her entire life had she even imagined that something like that would be witnessed by their, or better said, her eyes. “But, what do you mean with, brink of war, princess?” the unicorn asked with a genuine surprised tone. She tried to keep her attention off of the lives that had been lost in the horrible fight that had happened only miles away from them.

Though it was a deep sigh that the alicorn released in response to the words of her faithful student. Words couldn't be spoken for the first set of minutes. The silence was the thing that dominated everything. Not even Twilight herself dared to disrupt her mentor from it. Respect was given and taken by the two mares but at one point did one of the wings of the white coated alicorn spread itself before it was placed over the back of Twilight.

It was a silent message that she had to come with her mentor back inside. That was just the thing that she did. Without a word or a sound did the mulberry unicorn just enter in the throne room while a deep sigh was released. Nothing could have prepared her for the sights she witnessed outside, but nothing could be preparing her for the words that Celestia would speak either.

The moment when the wing was taken off of the back and the doors to the balcony closed had Celestia walked in front of Twilight. She had closed her only visible eye with grief for the families and lives lost in the blazing inferno caused by the dragon himself. “Words can’t redeem the deeds done on this evening. Deeds can’t redeem the words spoken. I’m sorry, Twilight, but from this moment onward, there is nothing that we can be doing then to do the one thing that is asked of us. We have to bring the very fight over, to her,” Celestia said to her.

The words entered the ears of the unicorn at a velocity that seemed unparalleled by anything in the known universe. It was something that scared the living daylight out of the mare. Those exact words meant something that Twilight herself had never expected to be coming out of the mouth from her ever so beloved mentor. “You, you must be joking here! You can’t be serious about this, can you? I, I mean, bringing the fight to her isn't exactly the very thing that I wished you to be doing your highness. But I most object against this. Whether you like it or not, Rarity is still our friend even though she doesn't realize it at the moment,” stated Twilight, hoping to reason with her mentor.

“My decision, is final, Twilight. Something must be done about the menace of White Tails and if it means extermination of the pest then so it be,” the princess of the sun brought out quickly. The very tone she carried was one that the unicorn wasn't used to hear from her. It actually caused her to take a step or two backwards while the head was shaken from right to left.

“No, no you couldn't, just have spoken those words! I refuse to believe that you called Rarity a pest! She’s an element of harmony for crying aloud! You can’t just let her die by the sword or horn!” Twilight yelled against her, hoping to bash some form of sense into the princess.

Though in initial response did Celestia glared her eyes over to Twilight. Then they narrowed themselves a little bit. “Then tell me, how you want to fight the being that’s split across the souls themselves? Because based on your observations and words, it is indeed a merging of the souls, instead of a hostile take-over,” the princess asked of her, putting Twilight in a bind.

“I, I’ll find a way!” Twilight said to the alicorn. She moved a bit impatient up and down on her spot. She didn't know whether or not she was given the full authority to find a cure of counter attack that didn't mean to kill one of her best friends. “You will believe me, Celestia, I will find a way.” With those brave set of words did the unicorn turn herself around and began to just walk away. Back to the doors that once let her into the throne room, back to the place she found herself more home than anywhere else in the place. “The library, must have an answer of some kind for this mess.”

~~~~

Celestia on the other end turned herself around as well. She would have faced the throne she had been sitting on ever since she was given the crown of Equestria. Something –if not anything– inside of her body suddenly made her look towards it with disgusting feeling for it. Almost as if she didn't redeem herself worthy anymore to actually sit upon the thing.

“Maybe, I’m growing indeed to violent my faithful student. Maybe, I lost the touch of love,” the princess whispered to herself. She dared to look out of the window again and into the darkness of the smoke from the fires. “My thoughts are clouded, my heart is shrouded. Just like before, the biggest mistake ever made.” All of the sudden did the alicorn turn herself around and faced the door while her eyes caught the tail of Twilight cutting off a corner into another hallway. “You’ll make a fine princess one day, I promise you that.”

“Who?” an all too familiar voice spoke up. Then the clatter of armor pierced itself into the ears of the alicorn. “Hope you aren't speaking about, you know who,” the voice continued to speak.

“No Luna, I didn't do that. And I take it that you are ready for it, that you are actually wanting to be doing such a terribly deed of your own?” Celestia said before she turned herself over to the being in the armor and gained the scare of her life once more. In her eyes did she caught her younger sister wearing the full attire of nopony else then Nightmare Moon herself. “I forbade you to wear it and look at you now!”

“I make my own rules in some cases, sister. Just like you do most of the time. And in this case, the rules are being set. Just don’t forget to tell her, what I have told you. Knowing the devil herself, she’ll come to claim the attack, personally. Well, more or less,” replied Luna with a stern voice at first. The last few words were spoken in a bit of a softened, uncertain tone.

“I hope that you are right here, sister. Because as the things are right now, I am touching the dark here myself,” replied Celestia before she did a step or two closer towards her sister. Before anything could be done, a tight hug was exchanged between the two mares. “Stay safe Luna.”

“Should be saying that about you, Tia,” Luna returned with a giggle of her own. Then the hug was released again from both parties at nearly the same time. “So this is how it’s going to end then I suppose? A glorious battle before the evil mare comes to a fall?”

Doubts all of the sudden filled the mind of the other alicorn. She was beginning to struggle whether or not she should tell her little sister the words of Twilight. But holding any piece of information back at that moment in time seemed to be a downright suicidal mission. It was the realization that came to the mind of the alicorn as well. “No, Twilight is going to try to find a way to make the right side of Rarity survive the splitting. But… I can not tell what will happen elsewhere.”

“Look who took honesty upon herself for a change of heart. Still, I’m glad to hear that you gave her the chance to save a friend,” Luna said to her with a gentle smile upon her face. She then took a few steps backwards. The wings of the lunar alicorn were spread and with one jump she got airborne once more. The horn charged itself up for usage again. “Today, we shall start and end the war with the nightmare forces, sister. Today will be the day, that most will return back to normal.”

Yet when Celestia wanted to reply to the words spoken, Luna had already disappeared in an orb of blue light. The elder sister knew immediately that a teleportation spell had been used by the younger mare. Which meant that the only thing that the celestial alicorn could have done, was to reclaim her position upon the throne where she would be sitting for the coming hours.

~~~~

Hours that crawled by while she had just so much things that went through her mind. Yet only there were also just so many secrets that were left behind for the ponies in question. Though through all of that madness in her mind was the entire atmosphere of the throne room surprisingly and oddly calm. A calm that seemed to be pretty unusual given the circumstances but at one point in time did the eyes of the alicorn open themselves as a new sort of energy was detected with her horn.

A form of energy that was both ancient and new at the same time. As far as she knew, only one being in the entire face of the lands had been able to give off such power radiations. “And here she comes,” Celestia mumbled. She finally got her eyes upon the predator in the shadows. A shimmer of darkness that just laid upon the floor like an actual shadow was revealed to the eyes of the princess herself. A shimmer that turned itself into a pool as something began to climb out of it.

All of the guards in the room took their arms. They had not a single clue of just what it could be that was attacking them but Celestia simply waved them off to calm down. “I have been waiting for a meeting with you in person and here it finally comes,” she said towards it, almost admiring it.

A tar-black colored set of forelegs were punched out of the pool of darkness. One that was slowly starting to boil like actual, hot tar. The thing that followed seemed to be going lightning fast. The figure just didn't rose itself out of it, it actually hurled itself out of the pool. It landed just a hoof or two away from it with the hind legs.

The black, tar-like goo was still dripping off of the being. A smirk was given and the pearl white, jagged teeth were revealed in their full glory. Hours had gone by since the attack on the settlement and the meeting that Luna had foretold was about to begin. But one thing still bugged the alicorn, the rather simple fact of that massive amount of black goo that covered the entity.

She also seemed to be surprised by the actual size. The head rose itself up from its lower position, to a much more regal height. Then it was finally revealed to her. Finally did the substance drip off of the being, thus revealing who it really was. With a shake of her head and tail stood Nightmare Rarity herself, the queen of fear, right in the throne room together with Celestia.

The smirk never left her face while the substance itself would have crawled back to the pool of darkness. A pool that closed itself off after having collected all of the bits and pieces. Words weren't exchanged between the two ponies. The dark unicorn would just have started to pace up and down before the throne. An action that did two things for the princess of the day.

The first one being the obvious one, the very fact that she could observe her enemy from almost every last angle there was. But the second was more into the actual advantage of the unicorn, the pacing drove Celestia to the edge of insanity from time to time. The pounding sound of hooves against the stone, disrupted the alicorn’s thoughts. It just worked her on her nerves that much.

Yet shouting against the unicorn before her was the last thing that she would have wanted. Anything that could be seen as a sign of weakness, would be used by the mare as an exploit against the two royals. That thing was just about the last thing that she wanted to have happen. “You rang?”

~~~~

In the meantime and in the library of Canterlot castle itself was Twilight working harder and more eager than ever. She wanted to get the books that she needed in order to find something that could be helping her to get Rarity back the way she was supposed to be. Not even her four remaining friends wanted to help her with the cause. None of them would even be understanding the words that she would be speaking, let alone reading.

So in one way or the other, it was really just her on her own that would be figuring out the things that needed to be done. At one end she could understand just why they had made their decisions as they did. The science behind it all wasn't something that easily discovered let alone discussed. Not to forget that they weren’t unicorns. The situation was a tough package for Twilight.

But that didn't stop the unicorn from not trying. She wanted to know the secrets and perhaps the best of all, she wanted to know exactly how she could be reverting Rarity back. She wanted to do it without the use of the elements themselves. All that her heart really wanted from that point onward, was to get her much beloved friend back.

“Hey Twi, you be needing some help?” the voice of Fluttershy all of the sudden echoed through the room. The one where the mulberry unicorn was working. The eyes were raised from the books and looked over her glasses towards the mare with a smile. Though behind Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie just hopped on like there hadn't been anything that had happened in the past hours. Ignorance was a bliss and the pink party pony was the prime example of that statement.

“Actually, I, I could be using some help here,” admitted Twilight in a soft voice. She lowered the book that she was reading from. She looked at the two ponies with a gentle, thankful smile. “If, if you could sit down and look through the books as well, I would appreciate it.”

“No problemo Twi!” Pinkie giggled before she hopped over to one of the chairs and took place on it. While Fluttershy on the other end was a lot more careful with her doings and sayings. When she sat down as well and opened one of the books, the entire language that was written in it caught her by surprise. Nothing in her nor Pinkie’s life could prepare them for the things they would be seeing there and then.

The moment when they both opened a book, they didn't exactly read through it in the traditional manners. Instead did the whole book played out before their very eyes as if it was some sort of movie. Every last aspect of information played itself out like episodes from a series. It was a thing that was so overwhelming for the two of them. Something that was so powerful, that both Pinkie and Fluttershy closed their books almost at the same time and looked at Twilight for answers.

“The books, they, they moved before my eyes. Everything written inside of it, playing out like… a movie! It’s awesome!” Pinkie said with her hyper energetic voice. Fluttershy blushed a little bit and pushed the book away from her. Almost as if it was contaminated with some sort of virus.

Twilight on the other end released a gentle giggle towards the two of them. She then lowered the book of her own once more. “Forgot to tell you girls, all the books in the Canterlot library are like that. It’s a unique little feature that they have as it prevents from certain laziness to take over if you don’t like reading, but still need the information needed. That, and novels are played out in a nice manner as well,” Twilight explained to them both.

“That’s, that’s pretty impressive, but… how did we see it? I mean, we haven’t gone through anything, or got zapped with magic,” Fluttershy asked with a curiousness in her voice.

“Really now, Fluttershy?” Twilight spoke with a small grin below her muzzle. “Remember the doorway you two passed through? That’s the beginning of the shield that contains the magic. Been trying to get it around the library for some time now myself, but any attempt seems to… well, let’s not go too deep into that shall we? We have something else to discover and worry about.”

With that did the two other mares gave their mulberry coated friend a firm nod of confirmation before they all turned back to their books. Hoping to find at least something that would be helping them to get Rarity back in the shape that she was.

~~~~

“I did ring you, more or less, yes. But let me assume a couple things left and right here. You’re the new nightmare in the land, is that correct?” Celestia said to the entity before her. She rose up from her throne and descended down the steps. “Don’t even approach her, guards, we don’t want any, accidents to happen.” Those last words, especially the last three, were spoken right when the mares stood face to face with one another.

Their muzzles could almost touch the other’s. But the expression given in the eyes already told the lightning between them. Whatever would be coming next out of the mouths of either mare, it would have been anything but friendly and harmless. “Do as she says and you all live to tell the tale tonight,” Nightmare Rarity countered in a dead serious tone. Though the looks between them were never broken. It was the first time that Celestia was given the treatment of the voice. She noticed in an instant that distinct mixture of the two beings that formed the entity.

Yet the guards themselves all heeded the words of the princess and the unicorn out of both respect and fear. Everything was better than dying for something that was deemed to be worthless. “Oh so now it’s you giving out the orders here, hm? Inside of the royal castle itself? You have some guts indeed,” the alicorn of the day replied towards the nightmare. After that would they started to circle around one another. Even though their faces were never removed out of one another’s while their bodies were shifted constantly.

“I’m not demanding anything here, just some friendly reminders you all should keep yourself to. You know, the very things that you have forgotten through time itself?” the nightmarish unicorn returned in a sharp tone. The sheath of the blade dangled off of the side of her body.

“I assume that you have managed to get your hooves on a devourer and used it to destroy the settlement in the distance?” Celestia then asked of her. The alicorn wanted to cut the chit-chat and go straight to the chase. Every moment that she continued to speak with the unicorn, more and more lives were in danger as it meant that her influence simply grew. “But something in your eyes counters everything you do… makes one wonder a bit.”

“Oh it was my work, Celestia. And if you aren't careful, you will be seeing a whole lot more of just that coming,” Nightmare Rarity answered to her. The lips curled themselves up into a wicked smile of utter insanity. A smile to which even Celestia herself was getting the creeps from. Yet she ignored the little fact that the princess of the day spoke about the counter in her eyes.

Even though she was getting more and more terrified by the unicorn, Celestia actually saw it deep in the eyes. She saw the fact that the words of Twilight spoke the truth. That she was actually split into two beings who were unfortunately merged into one. It was that that made the unicorn extremely unpredictable. It made her even more dangerous then perhaps Nightmare Moon herself had ever been in her entire existence.

Though there still seemed to be that little gap in the words. One that could be used to thrive a needle through. To get to know just what would be happening next. Caution was the thing that she just not advised to herself, but to every last guard in the room as well. The escalation of the situation was something they had to be prepared for. Though if it came to an escalation there and then in the throne room itself, it would be one of an epic proportion.

“You’re implying your words as if you want something that we have,” replied Celestia to the other mare. They were still circling around one another and kept their foreheads against the other. With their horns locked and appearing to be ready to duel it, the guards were grabbing for their hearts in terror. If those two would have started to fight one another, nopony in the place was save.

But the nightmarish unicorn wasn't that stupid either. She had predicted the fact that a being like Celestia herself would have questioned the words that she spoke. It only meant one thing to her. Which was that they were fishing for information. So that was what they would be getting out of her. “Whether you are having it or not, doesn't matter to me. All that I care for is that the whole world shivers and burns,” Nightmare Rarity replied to her with a sick glare in her eyes.

“Burn as in, the fires you just unleashed?”

“Oh Celestia, you have only gotten dumber through the ages now haven’t you? Of course not the burning of fires. No foal, the burning of hearts. Crushing the desires, the hope, the friendship.”

At the mere mentioning of just the last word alone did Celestia receive another heart attack. She had never expected the unicorn to say that against her. Out of everything that could be planned from takeover to assassination, the reality of the situation seemed to be much more grim than that it ever was before. “You do realize that the power of belief is a lot stronger then the magic that you possess right?” Celestia asked to her, trying to pry off even more information.

“Oh trust me, princess, I am fully aware of that. Though that brings me to my next point as a matter of fact. Do you know the sheer power of words that are spoken as rumors?” Nightmare Rarity grinned up to the princess of Equestria. Whether it was a taunt or not, couldn’t be determined.

“No, you can’t, you couldn't have. I demand to you know, Rarity. I demand to know, what the ultimate plan of yours is!” Celestia exclaimed in one breeze of words. All of the guards felt the room began to shake when they were spoken. Followed by the charging sounds of a horn.

All of the power that had been stored in the mind of the alicorn was standing at the verge of getting out of the horn. She wanted to blast the unicorn away like some kind of nasty pest. But the information she received could only be used as forms of truth, spoken by Nightmare Rarity.

Though in the eyes of the unicorn against her, was the urge of not only just fighting the alicorn there, but to use her magic as it was stronger than ever. She knew the horn of Celestia was primed for something, but it remained the question of just what it was what she was doing. “I demand to know, your ultimate plan!” Celestia demanded of her again.

~~~~

Outside of the castle and on the fields that were used to train both the celestial and lunar guards, had both Applejack and Rainbow Dash taken the opportunity to lay every last matter that had been stinging inside of their minds to a rest during a game of one-on-one hoofball. The ball was being kicked across the field while attack after attack was given by the cowgirl to get it into the goal that Rainbow was protecting. One she protected with everything she had.

With the sun was shining brightly and not a single cloud in the skies, it seemed like the works of a mad person to give a body such intensive exercise. Unless they actually wanted to overheat and fall down to the ground flat. “Ah don’t know about you, Dash, but Ah reckon, we’re down to our neck in trouble,” the hatless cowgirl said before she gave the ball a powerful kick with her hind legs.

The thing got launched out of a cannon and it soared through the air. The sheer amounts of speed that it gained even surprised Rainbow. Though she didn't wanted to lose from the cowgirl thus actually remained firmly in place at the goal. “Come to mamma,” the pegasus whispered to herself as she was ready to catch the thing with her bare hooves.

Though there wouldn't be much in the work that was actually able to help her withstanding the sheer awesome power and speed of the ball. When the moment was finally there, Rainbow didn't just took the ball in her hooves, she was flung backwards by it. The next thing she knew, she was pushed against the nets of the goal. Her face had fallen flat in the grass and the eyes closed themselves for a couple of seconds.

~~~~

“Ultimate plan you say now, missy hothead?” Nightmare Rarity grinned towards the celestial alicorn as her eyes looked up to the charged horn. “What would you be saying if I told that there wouldn't be any ultimate plan?”

It were those set of words that caused the alicorn to rethink her entire strategy of everything she knew about the unicorn. It wasn't like Nightmare Moon whatsoever. It wasn't a force that wanted to conquer all by suppressing the three races with an eternal night or anything. “You aren't going to say that, you are planning just what I think you are right?” Celestia asked of her in a dead serious tone. Yet her eyes just gave it away more than anything. They gave it away that she was scared for her life. Scared for the response that could be coming out of the mouth of the unicorn.

A unicorn who on her own turn grinned even more sinister. She witnessed just how the horn of the white coated alicorn discharged itself, therefore lowering the levels of a possible thread coming her way. “Oh I think you and I both know the answer on that one, don’t you agree? But perhaps a more audible demonstration is better for that little and feeble mind of yours Celestia.”

“If my mind is anything, it’s not feeble, Rarity,” the alicorn hissed up to the dark mare. She perked her ears for the words to come. Words that would be pretty much but actually pretty.

~~~~

“Partner, ya better not be standing in the line of fire of one of my balls like that anymore. Seems to hurt a lot more than it looks like,” the voice of Applejack echoed through the ears of Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus opened up her eyes again with care. She wanted to know just what happened to her. Though the facts were a little bit too obvious for that.

“You don’t have any idea,” Rainbow spoke in return after she had opened her eyes. The first thing she saw though was the extended hoof of Applejack to hoist her back up. “Thanks,” she replied as the hooves were placed in one another. And in a second or two was the mare hoisted back upon both of her legs and released a deep sigh.

“Ah reckon we deserved a little break, wanna head to town and see what’s going on?”

“Beats sitting here. Let’s go,” replied Rainbow with a grin.

~~~~

“No, you couldn't have said that just yet!” Celestia exclaimed. She was the one who bailed out of the horn to horn duel to begin with. With the words that were spoken by Nightmare Rarity while she was only getting more and more terrified of her. Most villains wanted to oppose the princesses and throw them over before taking the place.

Nightmare Rarity on the other end wanted to do everything but. “You do know that appearing on the stage a bit too much starts to work against you right? See is as a puppeteer and the puppets. Up to you, to figure out who is going to be who,” the nightmarish unicorn said with a grin on her face. Then she slowly began to fade from the physical world. Her entire body was ready to merge itself with the dreaded shadows that laid around her. A realm that she mastered more than anything else. One through which she could spread her powers through much easier.

“This isn't the last you have heard from us, Rarity! We’ll return to you and take the fight back to you,” the princess snarled up before her eyes went wide for a fraction of a second. She realized just what she had to be doing for all that time and she had almost forgotten it.

“Oh yes! Before you go, a few words from my sister.” In response had Nightmare Rarity actually stopped the process of leaving one world and turned herself back over to Celestia.

With the eyes being one of the very few things that could still be seen clearly. She then gave a haunted look towards the princess while she spoke her words of response, “I’m listening.”

~~~~

Though were Celestia and Nightmare Rarity kept talking to one another as if the fate of Equestria laid within their hooves, Luna on the other end had started her own plan left and right. The mind of the younger princess was working in harder than before. She hoped that everything would be going her way. Which it did, more or less. The teleportation spell that she executed brought her over to the door where the dragon laid behind.

After having burned the settlement, the beast had returned back to his home where the commanders had chained him up again. In the darkness of the lair had Luna allowed the magic in her horn to give off bits of light and thus illuminated the place a bit more. Though the horrors she would be hearing from the lands above her would only crush her heart even more. Those endless screams of agony and terror were more than enough for her. Up to the point that she thought to have been on the right place but definitely at the wrong time.

It was a price that had to be paid. But they could be helping in the trial against the unicorn if it ever came to happen. Her eyes rotated themselves up and she looked up towards the spiraling staircase of the domain. A deep sigh was the thing that was released through her nostrils before the head lowered itself once again and turned itself over to the massive wooden door.

“Everything here is made out of that crystal, yet the doors are made of wood. Suppose it is only better though, as it means that you can actually find them. Would be terrible if you couldn't,” the younger princess whispered to herself. Almost as if she was joking about it in a sense of the word. Yet the events as they were happening weren't a thing to be joking about whatsoever. Out of everything, they were perhaps in the most dangerous battle of their modern age.

With a deep exhale taken by Luna had she charged her horn a little bit more before allowing the door before her to open and she prepared her mind for the spells to come. With the breathing of the dragon becoming louder each inch that the door opened itself further, she knew that she was at the right place.

When the door was fully opened, Luna looked straight at the creature were nightmares were being made from: the corrupted, crystal devourer. She couldn't even believe the things that she saw with her own eyes. Everything seemed to be just so impossible and unbelievable.

With a couple careful steps made by her was the door was closed again. She had slid in and kept her eyes firmly peeled upon the best before her. “Oh Spike, what has she done to you boy?” Luna questioned herself. The princess took a step closer towards the dragon himself. She was armed with spells taught to herself after the entity had been forced out of her body.

Spells that would actually help her in the fight against the corruption that was racing through his body. “I promise you, Spike, soon you will be the old one again and you will be reunited with your mother. I never broke a promise, and I won’t allow you to be the first one either,” she spoke to him.

The words were caught up by the dragon. He opened his eyes and looked over to the princess with a glare of pure hatred. Just the sheer figure of Luna alone was more than enough for him to raise his head, and stand tall above her. Any sounds other than a low growl never seemed to be leaving him. Not even a word was granted to her in the tongue of the dragons. “You sense my own darkness, don’t you? That same darkness that surges through your creator, isn't that right?”

She could be waiting for a response out of him for eternity, as she wouldn't be getting one judging by the looks. All that Luna could be doing, especially at that moment, was to just release the charge of her horn against the dragon and hope the best. Though his corrupting wasn't as far as Rarity’s, he still could be putting up a massive fight against her.

One deep exhale was taken by Luna before the charge was released in a pulsing rhythm. A rhythm that could actually be felt through the whole domain by any living beings, but not the nightmare forces for some reason. Those remained oblivious to the fact that Luna herself had entered the domain and was trying to help the dragon to revert back to his original form.

Every last bit of darkness was purified within his little body thanks to the magic. The eyes of the princess continued to keep a watchful glare upon him while he began to shrink more and more. The black scales lightened up in their color. The plan appeared to be working like a charm. Spike was returning back to normal and it was something that caused a major relief by the alicorn.

Although the relief was short lived. As she sensed the faint aura of something dying not even a floor above them. The aura that belonged to Emerald Masquerade had become fainter and fainter. “I’m sorry Emerald, but there isn't anything I can be doing for you and you know it,” Luna whispered to herself. She turned her head up to the floor above the dragon’s cage. Before she even realized it, there was a tear that was going down her cheek. “No more of this madness, this ends right now. I will make sure, that you won’t survive this for one bit.”

The head lowered itself down again while the magic kept on pulsing from her horn. Spike kept reverting down to his much more younger and more well-known self. Just as she had promised to Twilight before everything went to dust.

~~~~

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were wandering through the city of Canterlot itself for the moment. They had just bought themselves a little ice-cream after which they could be found sitting on a bench. One of many placed throughout the metropolis. The two of them were talking with one another about their past adventures and other fond memories of events that had happened. They were just two young mares who were having fun like they should have been.

The chuckles and the giggles that were released by either of them worked almost like a medicine to many other ponies who couldn't help it but to give the two of them a smile as they walked past by them. The wildest stories did their turn as neither of them seemed to be giving anything about just what the crowd around them thought. Even though the guards were patrolling left and right, not even they found it a need to do something about it.

Of course there was one or two ponies that wanted them to shut up or lower down their volume, but they were always pushed back like it was nothing. Which they were to a degree or two.

~~~~

In the library of Canterlot were Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie working everything out in utmost silence on the subject that had been given to the three of them. It was more than true that the stuff they were reading through was a lot heavier than any of them could have ever expected. But it was for the greater cause. A fact that actually caused them to read more and more through the books that were presented before them. They wanted to get Rarity back, one way or the other.

Though the path of the future was never an easy one and even in the moments that everything seemed to be going perfect, there were still obstacles to be overcome. And the biggest one that they could have ever found, were the princesses themselves.

~~~~

“Speak the words of your sister and then we shall see whether or not they will be meaning anything to me,” snarled Nightmare Rarity towards Celestia. She felt the surges of hatred flowing more and more through her body as the seconds ticked away.

“Oh I shall speak them to you, witch of White Tails,” Celestia countered as she took a deep inhale and recalled the words spoken by Luna in that whisper one by one. “A duel between you and her shall be taken place in the ancient castle. A duel between the only two Nightmare’s in existence. Do you accept, or decline it?”

It was something that came straight out of the blue for the nightmarish unicorn and she hovered further up, more towards Celestia. The haunting expression of her eyes never seemed to have ceased down by anything around her and they stared right down in the eyes of the alicorn. Words wouldn't be needed in order for the reply to be spoken, the eyes screamed it out already.

32 The decisive blow

The sun was setting itself to call in another night, it would be a night of absolute darkness that followed up. Not a single body of the night would be revealed in the skies. No moon, no stars, no nothing. Just the sheer darkness of the night could be seen. A fact that would terrify a lot of ponies to no end, while others would be enjoying it to no end. The stages had been set for the final act of the play to happen. All that was still needed to be done, was to set the pieces and raise the curtain.

It was in the ancient castle deep within the woods of Everfree itself that the original mare of darkness wandered through the rubble. Her eyes looked over to the last rays of sunlight from the holes in her helmet before the eternal darkness seemed to begin. With no light to guide or be guided with, the horn of the being charged itself up with amounts of magic that were previously unseen. Flames were being summoned into the room that was all too familiar for every member of the elements of harmony.

The flames one by one were conjured into the reality of the situation, the being who had summoned them was given a first glance to the lights of night. It was a being that was long associated with the feelings of hatred, despair, betrayal and the worst of all, sadism. The hoofshoes that turned themselves over into those haunting long, black coated legs just before the armor was shown. All combined, it was a terrifyingly mesmerizing scene to watch.

“I have finally returned to the mortal planes,” she spoke up under a chuckle. Then the magic around the horn reached to an item to her left side. Where the queen had her blade, would the empress have had one of her own. It was being draw before her eyes and she simply held in place right there. The cat-like eyes just looked over it and a grin was being made with her lips. The eyes were looking at a rapier that seemed to have been forged over a millennium ago. Even despite its age, it still seemed to be razor-sharp and in excellent condition.

Nightmare Moon herself had returned once again. In order to fight the current reign of terror that stood under the banner of Nightmare Rarity herself. Though just as with the latest edition of the always so festive Nightmare Night, the Moon that was incarnated there was in fact Luna who had allowed herself to change. The looks were there, the mindset as well, combined with the leash.

Though the heavy effects were felt almost immediately after the change. Bits and pieces had still been hidden deep inside of her body. With the events that had happened as they did, Luna had felt the crushing force of her alter ego upon her mind. That violent force that wanted to take over her body and so gain the full control. It was an inner struggle that she needed to win by herself before the queen would arrive on her own.

“You will not take over my body this time, Moon,” spoke Luna through the mouth. One which caused the body itself to erupt out in a sick snicker.

“And who is to say that, you didn't raise the moon, you didn't open the stars, you gave me a weapon even. So who is it that you want to get out of the way this time? Your sister?” the voice of Nightmare Moon asked before she chuckled up again. All of it seemed too good to be true for her.

“No you fool, your successor.”

“What?! There’s only one Nightmare, and that is me!”

“Prove it then to her. You’re bits and pieces of the same entity, but you have the body of an alicorn at your disposal, she has the body of a unicorn,” returned Luna almost calm to her counterpart. Yet in a dead serious tone. Only to then add even more of an insult. “Cleave the rapier through her heart and you will destroy that piece of you, but also your successor, making you the supreme ruler but at a weakened state. Though you won’t be safe, unless you’re in my body. We need one another, Moon, you know that just as well as I do. Your successor, doesn't need you.”

The words were venom in its purest form. Though it was a lot better than ending up with both Nightmare’s joining forces together in order to topple Equestria over into the chaos that Moon had planned out a thousand years ago. A deep growl was released out of the mouth of the being. The very pact between Luna herself and her alter ego had been sealed with that. The sword of the alicorn had to go through the heart of the other nightmare in order to restore the balance in Equestria.

“So I suppose the waiting game shall begin right now?” Moon asked before she only gained silence as an answer. Luna seemed to have stumbled into a slumber right in the heart of the being to keep her own balance alive. Too long had both lived in the same body had created the effect that Nightmare Rarity had inside of hers. One was vast asleep while the other was awake. That was the way how things should have been going.

The blade was sheathed once again and a deep huff was being released. The horn discharged itself as a whole. Moon just began to wander through the broken down room, almost as if she hadn't been there in centuries. Everything she looked at, there were memories of the past to be found.

The mane flowed from her head like a mist. One that continued to just wave itself around and about before the eyes closed themselves for a second or two. There was a change in the wind without a warning. One that she had felt the second it was done. “And so it comes, the new nightmare to rule them all,” muttered Moon to herself with a grin. She moved herself over to the ancient thrones and stood in between the two of them. There she would await her to arrive.

It was also done for a rather specific reason though. It meant that she was neither night nor day, but the things that remained in between. The shadows themselves.

~~~~

The changes in the wind weren't anything that had been done by the pegasi. It was the real opposing side of the coin in fact. The wind was being created by the nightmarish unicorn herself who announced her presence that way. The wind began to pick up and even howl through the dark castle as if it was meant to get a scare out of Nightmare Moon.

An attempt that was doomed to fail on multiple occasions already, but it still didn't stop her from doing such a thing. Though the strength of the winds and the howls being made caused some of the already broken stained glass windows to be broken even further. All while the flames themselves seemed to be actually unaffected by the raging of the force.

“A force of nature has been unleashed upon this place, as it did over a thousand years ago. History is doomed to repeat itself but let me tell you one thing, impostor, it is never with the same ponies,” Moon replied to the howling winds with some of her own. She wanted to lure and taunt the unicorn out of her hiding spots. That way they could be battling it out, face to face.

“But you seem to be forgetting the fact, that the facts of history are written by the victors of the battles. While some just perish like that, others will rise to become heroes. And cowards, do, survive,” the twisted voice of Nightmare Rarity replied to her. The winds appeared to be calming themselves down for no real apparent reason. Whatever was happening, it would be something.

In the nose of Moon could the scent be smelled. That unique scent that the dark magic gave away from the unicorn. “You’re trained well in the dark arts, used them a lot as well. So I ask you this, why don’t you introduce yourself properly before your true, Empress of Darkness?” After the words had been spoken, there was a deadly chuckle being released through the room of the castle.

A little something that caused the unicorn to actually descended down at an incredible speed before she separated herself into eight tentacle like streams of wind that rushed through the shadows of the place. There they would be collecting more and more bits and pieces of actual darkness before they would return to the original impact zone where a mare was already shaking herself to take steps into the physical world.

The whole process was scary to look at from beginning to end. The howls of wolves could be heard ringing in the ears every single time that one of the ‘tentacles’ managed to get itself somewhere to deliver the bits of shadow upon the unicorn.

Then it finally happened. It went accompanied with a powerful roar of pure intimidation that would make both a hydra and a manticore retreat back to their homes. With that had she appeared before the original Nightmare. Who on her own turn didn't even an eyebrow up or down at the actions done and seen. Though then had the actual form of the unicorn been witnessed by her.

A form that best could be described by her as a cloud of shadows. No real contact with the physical world had been made by the being just yet. It was something that Nightmare Moon could have understood. It would be a shame if it was something that ended actually too soon.

“So that is how my successor looks like? Hmpf, had expected at least a little bit more flair to be added. But I suppose you’ll be doing just fine enough,” said Moon to the other nightmare. She left the space between the two broken thrones. She began to walk around the other entity in a massive circle with a calm pace. Every last corner was being inspected from bottom to top. “Still, so many questions that are left in my mind just to figure out who you are and what you want. But, what’s the fun in that?” Her horn would have coated itself once again in the dark blue aura. Though she didn't seem to be charging a spell of any kind.

Nightmare Rarity on the other end was surprised. She was genuinely surprised that she had been treated the way she was by the original Nightmare so far. Though when the horn charged up, every bit of her senses had been placed on high alert. She knew it was just spacing the time out before the final battle would take place. “I was told, that you wanted to duel me, a battle of the nightmares, as Celestia called it,” the queen of fears replied to the original Nightmare.

“Oh did she now? I can’t remember her speaking those words really, but if that is what she desires, she can go up my backside!” Moon returned. She had spread her wings to the maximum width in a heartbeat. “I will never tolerate anything that she would say. I am not turning myself into a mindless slave like all of you have done! You worship a heathen god, yet fail to realize that fact.”

Those words did manage to surprise the unicorn a bit more than she could have imagined, even had anticipated. She had expected the two of them working under one hat when she arrived. But from the revelations made, that didn't seem to be the case. “Then, I propose an alliance between us two to finally clear her out of the lands once and for all!” Nightmare Rarity replied with a persuasive and interested tone. If she could make peace or perhaps an alliance with Moon, everything would be falling right into her place.

~~~~

The only problem happened to be the very fact that Moon was Moon. She was not that easily convinced. The horn discharged itself completely as the wings were tucked back against her body. The eyes gave the clouds of shadow a dangerously sharp look from their corners as she returned back to a position in front of the mare. “Oh I don’t think so, witch. I wouldn't make an alliance with a second row puppeteer for as long as I live. You are not a Nightmare to begin with. You’re a scared, little foal who wants to have nothing but revenge upon her former friends. Pathetic. You’re nothing you hear me, nothing!”

Moon had become genuinely angry at the clouds. A genuine anger that nopony should have ever encountered. Yet those two entities were practically the same. They were build out of the same body. Or better said: the same essence. It was flowing through both their veins like blood in a normal pony. “You think you are so influential with your powers of fears and fights, while you aren't even planning to throw the fear straight into their hearts by killing the princesses right before their eyes. A mad scientist, is what I call you! ‘Nightmare’? Not in a million years for you,” growled Moon to her.

Those very words actually enraged the clouds of shadows. Their swirling became only more and more violent. All the way up to the point where they almost touched Moon. It was then that the unexpected thing happened. They returned to their center point. There where nopony else then Nightmare Rarity was being formed within the fraction of a second.

Out of the shadows themselves had she stepped. Her two forelegs went one by one before the rest of the body followed suit. With the strand of mane that blocked the view of one of her eyes, she had glared over to Moon with the other. The expression given to it was everything but friendly. The sheer expression of hatred were returned to both of the mares. They didn't wanted to show either of them any form of mercy whatsoever.

Though it was a learning curve for Moon. She saw just how much her counterpart looked like one particular pony she once faced. “Well, well, well, lady Rarity herself, now isn't it? Gosh how long has it been now hm? Mind if I say that you look good like that? Though the last time we met, you destroyed me with those rainbows of those pathetic elements,” she spoke in a tone of familiarity.

“At least they got the job done and crowned me into the next one. Your forces were in the need of a queen, and they choose me. So, empress, I think the tables have been turned her for quite the little bit now don’t you agree upon that matter?” Nightmare Rarity returned sharp. It was just before she noticed the sheath against Moon her hip. The sheath of her own blade could be found in the exact same spot. The conversation would have resulted in an massive duel. A duel between the two no matter what would be happening. Who would be the victor and who the loser would be, was the question to be asked. But she wouldn't be going down without a fight whatsoever.

Nightmare Rarity and Moon closed the distance between one another more and more much like as she did with Celestia before their foreheads touched each other’s. Silence was the manner of speech that took both of the mares over as they just stared right into the eyes of one another. The sheer insanity and malice that they both had for one another could be clearly seen as they didn't granted the other even one bit of room.

With their eyes and horns locked in a manner of mental warfare, they both tried to use their magic to crack through the skull of the other and to plant the seeds of fear. Only problem was that they just cancelled one another out when it came down to that. No matter how hard either of the two tried, the results were always the same. It wouldn’t have worked at all.

“You fear many things Moon, things that were only thought to be either a myth and legend,” Nightmare Rarity hissed to her. She didn't even blink to her original counterpart.

Moon’s lips curled themselves up in response. She gave a small but blink-less nod towards her other self. “Oh you have not a single clue just how much thing there are out there, that I actually fear. But there is one thing that you will never know, and it’s the one thing you have failed to realize in your time as this supreme ruler,” she replied with a sick grin.

“And the being?” asked Nightmare Rarity to her. Neither of them had blinked even though they had been staring to one another for close to five whole minutes. The desire to know the unknown was something that Moon sensed up among the very first things. She had picked it up when she had scanned the mare while she was still in her clouded formation.

“Which one, is genuine,” the dark alicorn then spoke under a chuckle of her own. Rarity took a step backwards and was the first who blinked. With the contest being over had she simply charged up her horn in order to draw her sword and even Moon took a step or two backwards.

The cutlass and katana hybrid sword was being drawn out to the battlefield and pointed straight towards the ancient Nightmare with a smirk. “The tip of a blade is always frightening to see, no matter who you are or where you live. It’s a common fear that can be used against you just as much as the others,” threatened Nightmare Rarity. It appeared she had reached desperation.

The blue eyes of Nightmare Moon looked down the tip of the blade. All the way down to the very hilt that was being suspended in the air by Rarity’s magic. Once again a contact with the eyes was being made. “Oh yes, it’s a common fear indeed, but you seem to be forgetting a little thing here when it comes down to it. So watch and learn from the master.” Without a warning given to the other unicorn did Moon draw her own sword. She held the tip of it against that of Rarity’s blade.

While the eyes of the unicorn looked down the rapier of her enemy, the fear was starting to crawl up to her for the first time in a very long time. “Suppose we aren't as immune for the things we spread as we thought,” the unicorn replied to Moon. She was more than ready to enter the duel with her nemesis. “I’ll enjoy finishing your pathetic little life, before you revert finally back to that good for nothing princess you are hiding so deep inside of your body.”

“I’m going to be so sorry when my blade finally pieces through you, but it will make you just shut up for once. That alone is more than enough payment for me!” Moon replied to her successor as the tips of the blades raised themselves up. Both blades caused the sparks to be flying left and right as the dueling pose was made by both of the mares.

“En garde!” they both shouted to one another. With those words would the battle of the ages begun for the two of them. The two Nightmares of Equestria would duel it out.

~~~~

Back in Canterlot had Twilight rounded up all of the girls. They would be sitting in the guestroom. The mulberry unicorn had taken place in one of the many chairs that stood there while the remaining four, all took place among the three couches. With the fireplace blazing and the sun going down, did the time had arrived to discuss the plan for the events as they were to come, begun.

“With the help of both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, we have been able to look through the books in the Canterlot library. To the best of our abilities we searched for something to separate Rarity from the essence of Nightmare Moon within her. We can however, only hope that that essence coated itself over the part of Rarity’s soul instead of actually became part of it. It’s a long shot for every one of us, but it’s the only thing we can be doing if we want to help Rarity out of this.”

The cyan pegasus had taken on a bit more leisurely position upon the couch while she listened to Twilight's words. Something about them caused her to get her own ideas about it all. “You know, the thing I don’t get is, why don’t we just use the elements of harmony against her? I mean, it worked on Nightmare Moon remember? Why won’t it work against her?” Rainbow asked to Twilight. After the question would she have leaned deeper into the couch to make herself even comfortable.

“Because, Rainbow Dash,” the voice of Celestia echoed through the room all of the sudden. All of the ponies turned themselves around to witness the white alicorn. One who walked up to them with a sad eye. None could have thought of a reason why she would be sad about anything, but that was what her eyes showed. The mare stood still just before the couches and moved herself with care in between them to give each of them a good look at her.

The time for the princess to play open card was there. She couldn't bare herself anymore to keep the things she knew a secret for them. “The elements are rendered useless. With Rarity corrupted the way she is, not even the elements of harmony would be helping, because they would be missing one of them,” explained Celestia to them all.

“No offence princess, but, I kinda had figured that part, actually,” Twilight said in response. All of the ponies suddenly looked at her. “I knew from the moment that Rarity had gone missing that something was wrong with the elements. I couldn't place it back then just what it was, but now that I do, I have been setting everything on everything to get my friend back. She’s not too far gone princess, we can still save her.”

The ears of the princess had listened with care to the words that were spoken against her. Just the sheer intellect of Twilight Sparkle seemed to amaze her once again. Even though she never told a word, she still knew exactly what was going on. The eye of the mare then moved itself outward to the world around them and noticed the lack of light in the dead of night.

Her example was then followed by Fluttershy. Who rose both of her eyebrows up and asked the question that would cause all the other ponies to look outside. “Where’s the light gone to?”

“The lightness night, the time is there, my little ponies. The time for the final act. The battle that will end the war,” spoke Celestia. She then slowly gazed the eyes of every pony present.

“War?!” Applejack yelped out in fear. She couldn't believe her own ears one bit. “How do ya mean, war?! Who has declared war against Equestria? Who’s the enemy in all of this?!”

“The war against Rarity. Believe it or not, but at this very moment, they are battling it out with one another,” Celestia replied to her. She hoped that it would have calmed her down.

“Who are, ‘they’?” Pinkie then asked the mare as she crawled out of the couch and walked slowly towards the princess. “Y-You don’t mean..?”

“Those are exactly who I mean, Pinkie,” Celestia spoke directly towards her. After the words had she raised her head up again. She wanted to have a good look at all five of them. “I can teleport you to the location where they were fighting, but I can’t promise it will be a pleasant view. Whenever you are ready, I shall send all of us over to there.”

It only took the five friends about ten seconds to look at one another and vote in their minds. And the very answer that they would be giving was a unison one of the highest self. “We shall be going, right now,” Twilight said for them all. All of them nodded to the words.

“Very well then,” Celestia replied before she charged up her horn and under a loud poof with an explosion of light, they had been teleported away from their room in Canterlot.

~~~~

With the swords having drawn back to their respectable owners and being ready to duel it out, there was a reason why Nightmare Moon showed some bit of mercy, if not compassion towards her unicorn counterpart. She knew things, the true things, that had happened to the unicorn and it wasn't something pretty at all. When the scan was done and the data that had been received in her mind, it was evaluated at a near lightning speed.

The only true conclusion that could have been made out of it, was the fact that her essence hadn't just taken over Rarity like it was being done with Luna over a thousand years ago. Instead had it managed to chew parts of her soul away and replaced the bits and pieces that had gone with her own. And that was the very thing that created the nightmarish entity as she stood before her.

Though time to think wasn't there anymore. The first blow was being dealt with the blades. The duel was in a full going. Both Nightmares were going at one another in full force. Moment after moment was there either an attack from one side or a defensive maneuver. Everything had been done in order to just survive the fight. With the types of blades being used, was the force that was applied to the blade something that both of them worried about in the backs of their heads. The possible fact was there that they could shatter on impact if a strike was dealt too hard or too fanatic.

“You’re a good fighter with the blade, Moon, I do give you that, didn’t expect that,” Nightmare Rarity said. She dealt another charge that was simply being blocked by Moon with a grin.

“Let’s say that I had my time to learn new skills up there,” the dark alicorn replied. She would have broken the attack and went in for a stab in the chest of the unicorn. Once again was there a successful block being made by the other her.

“This is getting tiring and you know it,” the nightmarish unicorn added with a grin. She broke the attack on her own and took a step backwards to catch some of her breath. Yet Moon wouldn't be having anything from that. She went straight back into the attacking position not even giving the unicorn a second to catch her much needed breath.

Block after block after block had been done by the unicorn. She then noticed a small gap in the patterns of Moon and she thrust her blade right through it. The effect of it were imminent and she had struck the dark alicorn in the side. A massive cut through her hide had been made. It caused Moon to retreat further than before. With the help of her wings had she landed back upon the altar of the elements and looked down upon both her wound as well as the other Nightmare.

“You think you’re something, now don’t you? But I still stick to my original statement, you are nothing when it comes down to the dark powers.” Moon yelled to her while the charge of the horn became a bit stronger in order to seal the wound. “Shame this duel can only end one way.”

Just after Moon had spoken those set of words was there a sudden orb of golden magic. One that just blinded the two dark entities for the moment. The bright lights of the magical aura caused Nightmare Rarity look away from the scene while Moon used her wing to protect herself and witness actually just who was coming to disturb their battle of the ages.

There wasn't anything that could have even prepared the dark empress for the sights that she would be seeing. Out of the orb came the five remaining elements of harmony, as well as Celestia herself. The first emotion that went through her mind was the ancient anger that she had built up for the alicorn of the day. That genuine hatred for her was burning faster and wider than anything else she could have been doing with her life. “You nor either of those five foals shall interfere with the battle that’s going on between us two. This is a matter of personal satisfaction and debts to be settle. And none of you, are part of that process. Not, yet,” Moon growled to them all.

“Nightmare Moon, I should have known that you were behind this all. Still, I do hope that Luna informed you well enough of the current whereabouts of Generosity before you?” Celestia replied to her. She wanted to avoid the question that wasn't directly asked of her. Instead it was something that was something that was demanded from each of them.

“You didn't answer my question there, Celestia. But I suppose they will discover what it means if you cross in between a battle of two Nightmares,” Nightmare Moon chuckled before she jumped down from the altar. She had prepared herself for another round of fighting against Rarity.

Both of their blades had been slicing through the air. They had sent two rather unique whooshing sounds through the room. A sound that indulged fear in all five of the ponies who all of the sudden began to wonder just why were there again. Though the message was clear to Celestia herself. She even gave a small nod towards Moon, who had turned her back to her.

One of the wings of the princess spread itself outward, thus prevented all of the ponies from going further. Her stern looking eye watched over all five of them. “Do as she says. None of you even dare to stand further than I do. The last thing we need is more elements falling into the hooves of the Grim Reaper and you all know that,” the alicorn said to them in a serious tone. She would be protecting them from the chaos that was going on, but could only do so if they stood their ground.

“But princess, isn't there anything we can do to help the both of them out in this madness? I mean, there must be something right?” Twilight pleaded to the white alicorn. She wanted to help so much. She wanted to get her friend back from the icy claws of the essence that had tangled itself up and around her.

“No Twilight, there isn't anything we can do that won’t interfere with their duel. Except you preparing the spell to cancel the entity that shares the soul of Rarity. Other than that, we are only bound to watch this from the distance we are standing now,” said Celestia in a troubled tone.

~~~~

It were hard words for each of the ponies that stood there. Yet they could understand them with every last fiber of their body. It would be stupid to just run in and battle it out with the two of them. None of them –with the questionable exception of Twilight– would have been strong enough to attack either of them alone. Let alone the fact that they were together then.

All of the eyes had begun to look over to the two Nightmares. Though only Rarity returned the looks to each of them. Her stone cold eyes managed to send a shiver down the spine of each of them. They wanted to go home even more after that. Yet they were concerned about the mare, that same mare couldn't even give a single thing about the six of them. She didn't even gave a single thing about the presence of Celestia either. All she cared for was the fact that Moon would fall before her.

“Once I’m finished with you, Moon, it will be the five of them that have to believe to my blade,” Nightmare Rarity hissed up in a bitter tone. Another clash of their blade had been made.

“Oh really now? And how do you plan to do that, from beyond the grave?” Moon replied to her with a smirk. She broke the lock that the blades had come in and thrust hers forth once more. The surprise attack was something that had each of them gasp. Though Rarity jumped out of the way before she would be hit by it. “Lucky escape. I will promise you the next one, will be massive hit.”

The five mares looked over the battle with a horrified expression. It happened every single time when they heard those cursed blade coming together with a crushing sound. None of them could have believed that the fate of a friend and the land even, laid in the balance of such a simple action. The Nightmares were bitter enemies of one another. As much as they didn't want either of them to live anymore upon the face of the lands, they still managed to keep it both fair and honest.

It almost seemed like they were holding themselves upon the dueling code written in official guidebooks. Which was something that caught the attention of Twilight almost right away. She prepared the spell that would hopefully manage to save Rarity from her path of doom. Fluttershy turned herself away almost every single time that the swords made a clash with one another. While Rainbow and Applejack simply looked with a set of big eyes. They were mesmerized by the motions.

The cowgirl and the wonderbolt trainee never had been the biggest of fans of the unicorn. A fact that was something widely known by every single pony they came across, but they still felt bad for the events as they had been doing down for her. Never in their lives had they expected that things would escalate so deep around her. It was almost heartbreaking to watch. She got more exhausted while Nightmare Moon kept on dealing blow after blow without showing mercy.

Pinkie Pie herself was helping Twilight with the preparations for the spell. It seemed to be a lot better that way. The mulberry unicorn was showing signs of emotional damage from the fight. Even though they had turned their heads away from it all, the sounds that they heard were still unbelievable. Almost as if they had once again entered one of those infamous bad dreams. The only problem was that it was the actual reality of the situation. She wished that it was something their minds had made up or they got indoctrinated by the magic of the unicorn.

“You ready, Twi? It seem like it can be over any minute now,” said Pinkie in a soft and sorrowful tone. She gazed into the eyes of the unicorn with a worried expression. Though Twilight needed to keep herself both cool and tough in front of all of the ponies. So with a single nod was the okay-signal given. The horn of the mare began to charge itself up and the preparations had begun.

Having read the tome of the spell over and over, it was about the best shot that they had in the operation to get their beloved friend back and everything seemed to be going just their way. “All that needs to be done, is a little bit of charging. After that, we can only see what’s going to happen. And, thank you Pinkie, for everything you’ve done,” replied Twilight to her in a humble sounding tone. What followed was a hug was given between the two of them.

Their cheeks nuzzled one another with care before they both released a small giggle. The princess of the sun slowly looked down to her side. She wanted to know just what was going on between the two of them. Though at the sight presented, she couldn't do anything but to crack a smile. Yet that same smile was gone in five seconds after she had turned herself back around to see the two clashing mares.

~~~~

There was sadly enough one massive thing that stood in the way for the elements their victory and the reunion with Rarity. That was a little secret that only Moon seemed to know. A secret that couldn't be dared to be spoken in the open. She had her back once again facing each of the mares. There was the time to hack through the knots that had been made the entire time. The final decision had to be made in the life of Rarity. One that wouldn't be a pretty one for certain, Moon knew that.

All of the thoughts of Nightmare Moon were steered by Luna herself, who was deep inside of the body. There was just one thing that seemed to be impossible for the lunar alicorn. One thing that she couldn't do even if she wanted. It was the very fact that she had to take a life. Luna was faced with the terrible decision to either let Nightmare Rarity live and thus continue her reign of terror, or to end the life of the once so generous and gorgeous looking unicorn once and for all.

It wasn't any type of decision one would love to make and even for a mare who could be so cold and calculating, it was still heartbreaking. Yet the fact still remained and that was one that was truly stone cold, it had to happen if they wanted to save Equestria.

There was a tiny moment in the eyes of Moon that caused her to lose focus for just the fraction of a second. Then they were being fueled by determination to end the life of the unicorn once and for all. It would be an event that none of the ponies would have ever expected to happen.

Clash after clash and strike after strike were being made by the two ponies. That was all before the final blow could finally be delivered. Rarity had been exhausted, there wasn't any puff inside of her body that could help her continue the fight. Yet she was being the stubborn mare. A thing that she still caused her to make one last charge of forgotten hope. “Right where I want to have you,” whispered Moon to herself. She prepared her rapier for the final blow in the blink of an eye.

All of the ponies on the sidelines noticed the changes that happened in the positioning of Nightmare Moon. They all knew just what would be happening in the next few moments. It was a revelation that caused each of them to stand just frozen upon the ground with their eyes wide open. None of them wanted to believe the things that would be happening within the upcoming seconds.

Not even Celestia herself was able to do anything against it. Not even a word was being spoken by her in an attempt to stop the incoming charge. Everything just came to a screeching hold in the moment that the entire change in posture had been made.

With each of them frozen in fear, Nightmare Moon had turned her eyes one last time over to the six of them. Only then they turned back towards the incoming mare. It was then or it would be never. The hit had to be made if the lands wanted to continue to live on. Every last fiber deep within her body fought against moving the blade towards the unicorn. But the sheer power that Luna expressed upon the dark alicorn seemed to be next to nothing.

What happened then was that the blade was thrust forward once again. Nightmare Rarity noticed it too late and she ran into the rapier with her chest. The unicorn would have come to a stop as her chest hit the actual hoofguard of the blade. The tip of it stuck out of her back. Her entire body began to shake and tremble. She felt the life being drained right out of her systems. All of the black, tar-like substances left her body like she was bleeding dry.

Though there was only one more thing that the alicorn could have done. That was to show her the truth of the situation. The truth behind the lies she had been following almost blindly since the day she was formed by the nightmare forces. Moon brought her horn over to Rarity’s with care. They touched one another for just a single second. That very second on the outside world seemed to be lasting a lifetime for the two of them.

In that very moment were the lies in which Rarity had been living in, broken as if they were nothing. The actual truth was being revealed to her, by the worst mare in the land. The history as it had gone down in the books, the very moment where the stallions tricked her into becoming the queen of the nightmare forces and she became the dreaded Nightmare.

It all seemed to be just so unbelievable for the unicorn. Every last aspect of the truth caused her to tear up even more. The pain that was flowing through her body suddenly seemed nothing. Only after their horns lost contact with one another did Rarity dare to look up into the eyes of Moon and noticed they weren't the same.

The normal, cat-like eyes of the dark alicorn had reverted back into the friendly looking eyes of Luna. Who gave her a single nod as a silent response. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, for everything,” Rarity managed to say before her legs lost all of their strength. She dropped down to the ground with a thud on the stone floor. It was in that moment that Moon removed her left foreleg out of one of her shoes. She would have closed the eyes of the unicorn and gave one last stroke over the cheek.

The deed was done and the queen had passed away just like that. But at what price that was to be paid? It wasn't something noteworthy of heroic at all. Nightmare Moon would go down in the history books as she always had been gone. Yet nopony would truly know just what made her to pull the decision. Not even Celestia was allowed to know that secret that the younger sister would bare.

Moon’s head turned itself over to the six ponies with care. They were thawing themselves from their position and gently moved bits and pieces of their bodies. Though before one of them could even speak words out against her had she vanished into nothing but thin air. Gone from the scene of the crime while leaving the body there to be put to rest by them six.

Five looked over to the largest mare in the room. All of them had glares that could kill her on the spot as well. A dangerous cocktail of emotions had arrived, resulting in something more toxic.

~~~~

“You, promised!” Twilight shouted out to her. She discharged her horn almost in an intant after realizing that Rarity had passed away and Moon had escaped. “You promised me to help in retrieving the soul as it was! But no, instead you just let her being killed! What sort of a monster are you, princess?” Words couldn't describe the mood for the five friends. Nor could be described for the princess herself. None of them ever even could have expected that such a thing was going to be happening. Every single second seemed like that it was going according to plan. But it was within the last minute that the changes happened. Changes that struck them all in a terrible manner.

“Don’t you dare to speak in such a tone against me, Twilight Sparkle! Not even I could foresee that something like this would be happening. Nothing in whole wide world could have prepared me for the devastating blow that was given to us today!” Celestia pleaded for herself. She placed her hoof before Twilight, preventing her to come any closer.

While the princess and the student seemed to be bickering a long end away, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack carefully appeared by the body of the recently deceased unicorn. The tears were standing in all of their eyes. None of them wanted to believe that Rarity had turned into such a monster before she died. None of them could believe it, none even wanted.

“Would you all be quiet, now!” Fluttershy yelled suddenly at the princess and the student. The tone was that of Rarity herself, as if she would have called them in the moment. The two indeed stopped their argument together before they closed their eyes. The tears were being shed by all of them. All of the ponies, including princess Celestia had to let their tears go for a moment or two. For on that day they didn't only lose an amazing tailor and element of harmony, but they also lost somepony’s daughter and truly a one of a kind friend.

It that was the thing that struck them the most of everything. Perhaps it didn't needed to end in the way it did but it was the only one that saw seen fit for. As saddening as it was, it was the truth of the situation.

~~~~

The death of the queen was felt hard all throughout the wood of White Tails. Every last being that stood under her control got the signal that nothing was what it seemed anymore. With the queen dead was their existences useless to continue. They couldn't return back to the original Nightmare as they had betrayed her. So there was only one thing that the forces could have done. Which was to vanish from history like they never had existed in the first place.

All over the woods of White Tails did the forces of the queen vanish from the lands. False shepherds, clouds of shadow, shadow stallions and even the savages, all just vanished like grains of sand in the wind. The domain that one moment was full of life was suddenly empty with only the prisoners to run the thing.

The magical fog that once tormented the woods, would be lifted a minute after the last force had disappeared through a couple of powerful zaps, causing lightning within it for some time.

~~~~

“And so it came to be, that through everything combined, we all share the burden of the loss of a great friend upon our shoulders. A friend who will be missed for who she was, and not who she had become,” spoke Twilight Sparkle softly to herself. Her quill ran over the parchment with the help of her raspberry colored, magical aura. Her eyes darted off to the side where they saw Spike lying in his basket. There where he belonged and a single chuckle left the mare. Only to then return back to the letter she was writing.

“Perhaps injustice had been done against our friend, perhaps not. We shall never be knowing it for sure. All that I can say though, is that Rarity will never be forgotten. For few were like her, and even less would be. Farewell.”

Epilogue

Rarity had passed away by the blade of nopony else then Nightmare Moon herself. That much was known to the land. It was something that could be seen as a devastating blow to the entire nation of Equestria, as well as neighboring countries. It meant that nopony in the land was actually safe from the malice of the dark alicorn. While they could have been right, it was still better than to live in the constant fear that Nightmare Rarity could be attacking somepony anywhere and anytime. The necessary thing had been done, whether or it not it was appreciated or not by the citizens.

Though after the death of the unicorn, the land had managed to divide itself up in multiple parts surrounding the subject. One part was actually happy that the mysterious queen of fright was gone and that the woods of White Tails. Combined with the fact that the lands were safe once more thanks to the actions done. Another part and the majority of the land mourned about the death of Rarity herself.

It was never revealed by the princesses nor her friends that Rarity had been turned into the nightmarish appearance she carried to her day of death. Perhaps it was a secret that was better kept just among the ponies for who it was meant to be. That sadly enough also included the family of the once so graceful ivory coated mare.

Explanation after explanation had been given to the family. All in the hope that they would ever understand that if Rarity continued to live her life the way she did, there would only have been more trouble and chaos would have been there. Which happened to have been just about the last thing either of the royals wanted. The binding of the two souls together was something that killed the innocence of the unicorn a long time ago and that her death was the only way to truly end it.

A heartbreaking fact for the family it indeed happened to be. Though if the royals said that there was no other way it could have been done, none dared to protest against it.

A funeral was given for the unicorn just as she would have wanted it. Everypony appeared in their most beautiful outfits, though the mood on the site was everything but joyful. In the coffin laid the body of the friend who had gone. It was truly heartbreaking for all of them. Friends and family alike shed their tears as the tales did their turn. Eventually she was slowly lowered into the ground and each of the ponies present gave their last goodbye’s to Rarity. Only then was the funeral itself over and the dark chapter in each of their history could be closed with a tear instead of a smile.

~~~~

Though it would have been a couple days later that the group of friends would be having collected themselves upon the balcony of the Golden Oak Library. Each of them sat upon the hunches and gazed over to the infinite stars. Though there was one little gap in between Twilight and Applejack. For in between them didn't lay Spike, he was actually napping in his basket after having turned back by Luna. Instead there was another pony who had claimed the spot. A pony who had taken the role of the element of generosity upon herself out of honor. A pony who actually was deemed to be worthy to be the element and –more or less– kept a family tradition.

In between Applejack and Twilight sat nopony else then the younger sister of Rarity. The little Sweetie Belle had the necklace of generosity around her neck and she looked over to the other mares before her eyes also turned up to the skies. A sky that was as clear as it could be with not a single clue visible in the air.

All the stars shone both bright and powerful, almost like the state of the elements. That among the darkness that was cast over them, there was a light that could be found. The more the ponies watched to the skies, the more they wiped away their tears of sadness. They remembered their favorite moments with the ivory unicorn. They didn't wanted to remember her as the queen of fright she portrayed herself to be, but as the wonderful and generous friend she was to all.

Though the sniffing was caught by a set of white ears that stood in the door opening of the library. Ears that turned and twitched softly in response before the words left the mouth. Words that were spoken in a tone and tongue all too familiar to each of the ponies. “Well, what’s the reason for this sadness if I may ask? Did somepony die?” was asked in that refined and lady-like tone without anypony actually knowing where it truly came from, until they perked their ears.

All of the ponies then turned themselves over to the doorway and saw the impossible just standing there. None of them could believe their eyes for what they saw. None wanted to believe it actually yet the proof was right there. “Sis!” Sweetie Belle almost yelled up. Tears of happiness filled within her eyes at the very sight of it.

She happened to be quite right on the matter. Because in the doorway stood an ivory white coated, purple maned and sapphire blue rimmed unicorn mare. “Sweetie dear,” the mare spoke up just before Sweetie had ran up to her and wrapped both of her forelegs around the neck. One of the unicorn’s forelegs wrapped itself around the back of the filly and a sisterly hug was given to the both of them.

“Rarity?!” all of the other mares exclaimed pretty much at the same time. None of them could even believe the things that they were seeing. It seemed to be just so impossible to them that unicorn just stood there but she did and she was alive. It had to be, without a single doubt the happiest moment in their lives.

“Though, what happened to yar mane, that, white streak into it. Latest fashion?” Applejack asked with care. She had noticed the white streak of mane running through the purple hairs easily.

“Well Applejack, is it a crime if I change my style every now and then? Besides, you have to admit that it look just marvelous,” replied Rarity just before she nuzzled upon the nose of Sweetie with her signature warm smile.

“Hey sis, I think this is yours,” Sweetie spoke. After that, she gently managed to charge up her horn in the green aura. With a raised eyebrow did Rarity look up to the charge and before she knew it, was the necklace of generosity back around her neck. As it originally was intended to be. Even though the power once more surged through her, it didn't matter to the unicorn at the moment. What really mattered to her was the fact that Sweetie successfully managed to perform a levitation spell. Out of everything that had happened, was that the true beauty of it all.

Speaking of those spells in general, it was the same spell used by the purple maned mare to bring them back over to the group without much of a hassle. Once she had settled herself in the right position was Sweetie kept close to the chest of the mare, whose head turned over to look at the five remaining mare.

Five remaining mares who couldn't believe what they saw and were still wiping away their tears. “So, any of you willing to tell me just what happened that causes you all to be so sad, or is this one of those moments it is better left untold?” Rarity spoke up with a chuckle as she carefully laid a hoof over Twilight’s shoulders.

“Trust me, Rarity, we’ll tell you one day. Sooner or later,” returned Twilight to her in a calm manner. After those worse, they all looked back over to the stars. The stars that seemed to be shining even brighter when the group was complete once again, as it always should have been.

~~~~

“Just for this one time, I allowed you to use this spell Luna. This, one, time,” said Celestia against her sister. The both of them had been engaged in a duel of chess. “Next time they will all be asking for that favor and that is a thing I will not be having.”

“I heard you sister, I heard you. Besides, you know just as well as I that Sweetie Belle isn't capable to stay the element of generosity. Perhaps at a later age, but not at the age she is,” Luna replied with a foalish grin that was clearly visible upon her face.

“I suppose you are having a point there, sister of mine,” returned Celestia. There was a deep sigh that left through her mouth. She tore her eyes away from the game for just a little bit.

“Check, mate,” Luna added in a bit of a seductive voice. She placed her hoof against the king of Celestia, before she toppled him over on the board.

02 Rejections and discoveries of a lifetime

The two stallions had been watching over the unicorn her transformation with care. They had heard the words and they almost froze up in pure fear. Their plan had worked and their queen had returned once more. When the two of them regained their ability to move again, they were unsure of what they needed to do. They looked at the eyes in the clouds of shadow just before going over to one another. “Bow,” the mare within the cloud spoke up in a demanding tone.

“What?” the emerald eyed stallion replied just before he turned back over to the shadows.

“Bow, before your queen!” the entity shouted directly at them. The two stallions obeyed the words almost right away. Which resulted in them lowering themselves through their forelegs. “Good, very good,” the entity said. There was a deep exhale came through her nostrils. “Now do tell me, where have you been stationed all this time? But above all, what are your names?”

The emerald eyed stallion looked up towards the unicorn and made a slow, blinking motion. He could feel the powers that were surging through the body. The powers of the tailor mixed with those of the dark mistress of old were thrown together, mixed together. A very dangerous combination to be messing with. That was exactly what they didn't want to do. “The name, is Shadowfright, your highness,” he brought out before lowering his head once again.

“Shadowfright…you said? Precarious little name you’re carrying there, but it shall do enough. And how about you?” The entity then focused its attention to the stallion with the sapphire eyes. A much broader stallion then the other and was obviously trained for true face to face combat.

“Name’s Shadowblood, my queen,” he replied with a respectful tone towards the entity. Only after that did he dared to raise up from the bow. The full mass of his muscular body was revealed and the being was truly surprised from their names. The eyes showed that at least.

“Curious… most curious,” the entity mumbled to itself before the thoughts drifted off into places where neither of the two stallions had been through. The memories of Rarity’s past all came towards the entity, but it seemed like events from distant times ago.

“If, if I may ask, how do we call our queen?” Shadowfright asked with care. He had also raised up from the bow and looked at her with his emerald gems for eyes.

That question took her out of the flow of thoughts before they could wrap themselves around the entity’s still beating and it turned its cat-like irises over to him. “The very name you shall address me as, will be nothing more but a morphing of the previous Nightmare. So you can call me, Nightmare Rarity.”

~~~~

Once it spoke the name, the name it would be carrying until the end of time, there was a roar of thunder that erupted above the old castle in the Everfree. A roar that rolled on for a good ten seconds before it became silent again. Not a single creature nor pony dared to make a noise of any kind. That was with the exception of Nightmare Rarity, as its deep exhaling was the only thing to be heard within the ancient room.

The very room where Nightmare Moon once had fallen, housed the very birthplace for the next entity in the line of nightmares. A being that was nopony else then the very element of generosity. With one of the precious six having become corrupted, the other five would be facing a difficult task in using them. But that would be a trouble for later. A lot later.

“Rally the troops, now,” said Nightmare Rarity after the silence had become too much for it. She wanted action and knew just what to do.

“To where are we going my queen?” Shadowfright asked of it with a curious and slightly nervous look on his face.

The entity within the fog looked over to the stallions before a grin appeared within the substance. “To a place far away from here. My former home is unable to carry out the duties nor does it provide a hiding spot for what I've become. No, the nearby woods of White Tails shall be good enough. Safe during the day and trouble during the night. Trouble caused by you two and the other men. The land shall know just what kind of powers are flowing through my body.”

“And then…you’ll cause eternal night over the land, right? Just, just as you promised,” said Shadowblood in a cautious manner towards her.

Nightmare Rarity looked over to him with a dead serious look. It had begun to dig within its mind to find that promise made so long ago. But there was the problem with the plan. For the two stallions wanted to use Rarity’s body as a vessel for the true queen of darkness, Nightmare Moon herself. However, instead of letting her become the dominant force within the body, Rarity happened to have been a lot stronger than they originally had expected her to be.

What truly happened to the once other unicorn, was the fact that she had never died. It was still the Rarity everypony knew and loved that spoke the words. But it was her very soul that had become tainted with the spirit of Moon. That was what caused her to change in the misty form. All because the body wasn't fully developed yet to the new circumstances.

It was true that the two stallions had seen flashes of the changes that were made but those were what they were, flashes. The real transformation would take a lot more time. But that didn't bother the unicorn at all. With the mind mixed of both herself and Moon, it was a truly dangerous combination. Yet the luckiest thing of it all had to be the sheer fact that Moon wouldn't be able to control her body at all.

All the actions, all the words, would all come directly from Rarity herself, no matter how twisted she would get in form and speech. The kind and hardworking element of generosity had died in a way, to make place for the tyrannical overlord that was her Nightmare persona. Turmoil would shudder the land, but first things first.

“We, shall see about that,” replied Nightmare Rarity to the two of them. It were those words that caused the two stallions to get some suspicion on her. They would play along for the time being. If she wouldn't keep her promises, the blades of fury would slit her throat and they would kill her in cold blood. After which the search would start all over again. Trying to find that one pony suitable for the job of fulfilling the promise made by Moon before she was sent to the moon itself. “Now, be gone you two. We have a long hike to go.”

“As you wish, my queen,” replied Shadowfright to her. The two of them turned themselves around and made their departure. They left the mixed and still mixing entity where she was and the eyes looked all over the place as the memories of the two beings came back. The destruction of Moon herself.

“You’ll never take over my body completely… I can assure you that,” mumbled Nightmare Rarity to herself before the mist started to move away. She was more than ready to leave the old castle behind. She wanted to find her new home somewhere in the ancient woods. The wonderful Carousel Boutique was located right inside of the town of Ponyville. A town for which she had gotten a growing hate. It wasn't something the entity could explain why, but it was just there, deep-rooted within her very mind.

Returning to that town wouldn't be a wise idea at all in her eyes. While it was true that her friends and family lived there, the being was not allowed to think about them for reasons unknown. Every time she tried, it was either locked, crushed or her attention was placed on something else.

~~~~

Both Shadowfright and –blood found themselves walking through the broken down hallways as they shared the same strain of thoughts in their mind. But it was the much broader Shadowblood who spoke up first and broke the uneasy silence. “You sure that she was the right choice for this?”

“I’m sure, Blood. Have faith in me for once. It didn't took the princes of the night a day either to become our first queen,” answered Fright with his deep sounding voice.

“You can have a point there all you want, but that still doesn't take away that if she doesn't cause the eternal night for us, she’s going down,” Blood then spoke up. He released a deep huff that caused a small puff of steam. “She’ll either make the promise true or perish from this world.”

Those words caused Fright to look up at his companion and he made a motion that would have raised an eyebrow. “Now I remember why she put you in charge of the dungeon,” he then added in a chuckling tone. He then fixed his attention to the task ahead.

When the two of them entered the courtyard of the castle, they released a howl into the air. One that could only be made if a timberwolf and manticore roared together. One that was unique to the land but also terrifying to listen at.

And from out of the shadows they all came. They appeared before them as clouds of shadows. Entities without physical structure or face. Creatures that could float everywhere in plain sight and still be hidden from prying eyes. They left their warm and comfortable homes of the shadows themselves to listen to the words that were spoken by both Fright and Blood.

“Today, my brothers and sisters, today we mark the day that a new queen of our kind has risen up to her potential. A unicorn shall be leading us into the promise made ever so long ago! Eternal night shall fall for the land whenever we go. However, we can not stay here. We are going to move to the woods of White Tails. The time, is ripe. The time, has come. The land, shall shudder under our might. The might of the Nightmare Forces!”

Then it were all sorts of beastly roars and cheers that came from the clouds of shadow. They wanted to make their departure and follow the lead of the queen. Both Fright and Blood smirked like the devils they were. They only needed Rarity –or Nightmare Rarity– to the point where she had caused the eternal night. And after that, they would ‘take over’ the throne from her.

~~~~

Sadly for the two of them, Nightmare Rarity’s entity had been listening and even watching over the clouds from a location high above them. She had caught every single word that was spoken and her mind made the quick connection that they were conspiring against her. A case in which she was either right, or dead wrong. Either way, the being would make sure that she would stay on top of the board and keep the title of queen Nightmare Rarity.

With a huff she turned herself around and hovered away into the darkness of the castle, wanting to lead the forces to the place of destination. The place that she would be calling home from then onward. Many things had still to be set straight in her mind and body, but with enough time those things would become clear as crystal. The land had never seen a kind of evil that was that glamorous and polite, but neither as insane and tyrannical.

~~~~

The days slowly had been crawling by and the unicorn seamstress had never made her return to the peaceful little town. And that fact alone worried a lot of the ponies that lived inside of it. They began to think that something terrible had happened to her or even worse. Normally there would be at least one pony that knew where she was, or had gone too. But not even within her own family did they knew where she had been.

Desperation of a mother, father, sister and five of her friends had caused them to go to town’s square in order to speak with the very mayor of it. The eight ponies were walking in a quick pace through the streets as the clouds above their heads were gloomy and threatening to erupt in a rainstorm any second.

“Come quickly now, these skies aren't looking good at all,” Magnum, the father of Rarity spoke up. He was a white coated, brown maned, tailed and mustached unicorn stallion who held the door of the building open for them all. What followed was a parade of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle and his beloved wife, Pearl. Once they all had entered, he did the same and joined the company inside.

“Where to now, honey?” the purple maned, pinkish coated unicorn mare asked of the only stallion of the company.

“I think… we best head over to the waiting area until we are called. I’ll do the talking to get us in there, Pearl,” replied Magnum. He stroked the cheek of his beloved wife before giving a peck on it.

“Oh you and your silver tongue,” she spoke up before he received a quick kiss on a cheek of his own. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” And then he was off to the desk of a clerk.

The other ponies were guided over by Pearl and all of them took calmly place on a couple of the benches. “Eh Rainbow, yah think it’s gonna rain today?” Applejack asked after she had turned herself around and just looked outside of the window.

“Can’t say. They never said to me to clear the skies or that these clouds would be there. Suppose we best prepare for a wet coat,” the rainbow maned pegasus replied with a playful smirk.

“Ah suppose yar right on that. But, Rares not saying where she’s gone to, left for days on end…kinda suspicious don’t you think?” Applejack continued, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Applejack,” Pearl spoke up, “I have raised my daughter as best as I could. However, her mind is easily confused. Perhaps she thinks she has told it to somepony.” It was a fact that was rather true. Because of all of the business Rarity had in her life, it caused her mind to become a strainer and she had to write down most of her things to done and having done.

“Ah didn't mean to offend any of ya’ll, just sharing mah thoughts on the matter,” spoke Applejack in her defense. Then she decided to keep her mouth shut on the matter before it would be any worse. She realized that her words weren’t as helpful as she first thought them to be.

“I just hope… that she’s okay,” said Fluttershy in her timid and shy voice. The best of friends she was with the unicorn for a couple of reasons. Even though they were completely different in personality, they still had many similarities between one another. That was something that couldn't be said from Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

Twilight on the other end, allowed a deep sigh to leave her nostrils. She thought about the near endless possibilities of what could have happened and what actually had happened. Thoughts that were unspeakable for her as the little sister was also there.

Sweetie Belle –the white coated, pinkish white maned unicorn filly– snuggled up against her mother. She closed her eyes to get some rest. For day in and out had she been thinking about her big sister. Hoping and praying to the princesses that she would be alright no matter what. But it came with the price of a true lack of sleep. For a filly that did as much as she did, it was trouble ahead.

A silence on the subject was being made while the casual chats kept going. None of them wanted to speak about what could have happened, as it were all loose thoughts. But then Magnum made his return to the group. “She can see us, right now.”

Taken by surprise of the speed, all of the ponies rose up from their seating and followed the stallion. He brought them over to the office of the mayor of the town. But with all of them in there, it became quite crowed. It was something they could deal with though.

The company found themselves in an oaken wooded room with the mayor sitting behind her desk and her forelegs crossed over one another. Behind her and a bit too the left stood a grandfather clock that was still ticking and even gave the time on accurately. Much to everypony’s surprise. The mayor herself, looked over the eight ponies and signaled them to speak on the matter.

~~~~

“So basically,” the mayor started after the story had been done. “What you want me to do, is to organize an entire search party because of one pony who left, without a note, just because you might think she’s gone missing?”

“That’s, about it, yes,” Twilight replied in all of her honesty.

Those words caused the face of the mayor to go sour for a little bit. The earth pony mare removed the glasses from her nose and laid them before her on the desk. “Don’t get me wrong here, but I’m afraid I can’t organize a search party for her. She hadn't been kidnapped or anything the like. She just left. I’m sorry, but in my authority, I can’t do anything else to help you. Just remain calm for the coming days and await her return. She has to come back eventually.”

The answer that was given to them, was nearly the complete opposite from that what ponies originally had hoped to be hearing. But with words of the mayor were final and they just had to take it for what they were. Unfair it might have been but everything has its limits.

Sweetie Belle had taken her refuge on her mother’s back and had been looking and listening the whole time. The disappointment dripped from her face before she just dropped herself on the back. She then simply hung there before a deep sigh was left through her mouth.

Of course it was hurting to see for the mayor mare as well, but she couldn't do anything else. And so the company of eight ponies left the room for what it was and they separated their ways into two groups. Pearl, Magnum and Sweetie returned back to their home, whereas the other five mares would go to the Golden Oak library to discuss further matters.

They spoke their thanks and goodbye’s to one another before the went their separate ways. The family remained in silence up until the door of their house was closed behind them. Then the arguments broke loose about what they possibly could be doing.

~~~~

Meanwhile in the library itself was a similar kind of conversation was going on. Each of the five friends had been seated in the living part of the library and they all spoke about the facts as they knew them. “But does anypony know something from the day she left? Who had seen her as last?” said Twilight. She wanted to have a clear state in her mind before any conclusion was drawn. “Who?”

Everypony shook their head to the question that was asked with the exception of Fluttershy. The timid and shy pegasus spoke up about their last meeting. “It, it was about a week or two ago, we had our weekly spa trip and we just did what we always do. Nothing strange, really,” she spoke up towards all of the other mares.

The words themselves caused the ponies to release thoughtful moans and groans. “Oh, oh, oh!” Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up, capturing the attention of everypony. “Maybe she’s in one of those major cities like Manehatten, she has always dreamed of going there, right?”

Twilight was caught a bit off guard by the words. Yet she grinned at them through her own mind and experiences with Rarity. Only to come to the shocking conclusion that Pinkie could be right. “Now that you are saying it. I think, I think that we indeed better wait for her return. Just a few more days and then we start our own search party.”

While the words of Twilight were a hard hit for them all, they had to agree with them because of the facts they had not even the slightest of clue to where Rarity could possibly be. In a major city, in a wood relaxing, or buried in a ditch after some creature had attacked her. Loose speculation was all the confirmation they had.

They couldn't even go into the boutique itself to look for clues as the only key was always in Rarity’s possession and teleporting inside would be seen a breaking in. Let alone the fact of just what kind of magical defenses the unicorn had put on over the years. It was a tough package for the five friends but the cards laid open for them. Yet they weren't favorable to say the least. “Ah think you’re right, Twi. Suppose it’s better to wait just a bit longer before pulling on the bells as they are.” Applejack said before she placed her signature hat back on her head. “If ya’ll excuse me, the farm need me.”

“I think it is better for us all to leave,” said Rainbow before she too made her preparations. And so they went their one way. One by one did they leave the Golden Oak library for what it was. Twilight was left alone in her home and allowed a deep sigh to leave her. Her mind was troubled, her body aching and her soul tainted. Where in the world, could that unicorn possibly have gone to?

Questions, theories and plots all went through her mind faster than anything else as the mulberry unicorn had taken her position back upon the couch and just laid on it with her belly facing up. She had been wanting to read and let her mind drift off of from the matter, but it was simply impossible. Rarity meant a lot in her life, in all of their lives and just putting her aside was something unthinkable and unheard from. Though times it were for her as well as her friends. Time would tell when the unicorn of generosity would make her return into the town.

The mare closed her eyes and soon enough fell asleep. Her mind had exhausted herself because of almost everything that went through it. Uncertainty was the abyss she stood for and it had to be crossed one way or the other.

~~~~

The many clouds of shadow had left their home in Everfree. They were already on the march towards White Tails under the command of Nightmare Rarity. Though both Fright and Blood had so their own agenda to keep. The two stallions shook off their physical form and became clouds themselves. They than simply merged within the group and in a convoy of darkness they went after their queen.

At the head of the entire convoy was the queen herself. Leading her forces through trunks and branches. Because they didn't travel over the known roads. Instead they traveled through the vegetation of the forest to keep a low profile. Even though there were no others walking on the paths in Everfree, the creatures it housed never dared to attack them.

Fear had filled their brave little souls and they rather stayed away from the clouds of shadow. Mostly for the fact that they could morph themselves into copies of the predators the forest was rich. Fight of flight, often resulted in flight. Something that all of the forces could understand.

Day turned into night and night into day when the passed the border of Everfree and White Tails. Muttering among the forces had been heard, but both Fright and Blood spoke of calm. Time had to be given to their new queen before the plan was set into motion. Nightmare Rarity had different plans on that though. Yet she decided to play dumb for the time being. That gave her an advantage to an unknown degree over the two that had created her.

They wandered deeper and deeper into the woods had a thick fog been crawling up to them and it reminded not only the queen, but every other nightmare force as well, as tails waving in the wind. “What do you know, that’s how the name came to origin,” whispered Fright to himself. He glanced over the scenery in his clouded form.

It was true that the clouds had no visual eyes to look around but they could still see the world as it was. Unique beings they were and the perfect troops for almost any situation. A thing that would come in rather helpful when the time would be there for them to shine. But as they kept walking, there was a blue aura that went in the shape of a horn. Almost as if it was being charged with magic.

Some of the forces looked up with baffled motions but the queen herself had no idea just what was going on with her magic. It appeared to be tugging her to something if not somewhere. Without any word mentioned she made a sharp turn to the right and then went straight again. “What in the devil’s name do we get now?!” she spoke up to herself while trying to figure out where she went. But with the thickness of the fog, that was harder than it looked.

“Where are we going now, Fright?” Shadowblood spoke up to his partner. They almost blindly followed the queen to wherever she was leading them. With their direction unknown, who knew just where they would end. They could enter into a trap set up by Celestia for all they knew.

Yet little did they knew was that the place the entity was heading towards, was something none could have ever dreamed about. The very place where all hell would break loose. The very place that would become the base operation for Nightmare Rarity and the place where probably the greatest and worst discovery would have been made.

Hovering and floating through the trees and ground, Nightmare Rarity eventually came to a wide open spot. One that was just clear. But when her eyes went up, they caught the ceiling of fog. “A chamber..?” she questioned herself before following her horn again. With the magic acting like a receiver. she went over all of the open field. All of the forces that had followed her just waited at the side lines. They all would have looked at that what was going to happen.

They had no clue, but it looked rather funny to see their queen go up and down like that. Though to some it was crazy talk. Yet none dared to speak a word against her and her actions. “This is most unusual," the being mumbled to itself before it came to a standstill by one particular area. The magical pull was a lot stronger at one part of the fogless chamber.

Just to be absolutely sure of her business, the queen continued to walk around a bit. None of the forces had even an idea what she was doing. Fright and Blood muttered something against one another while all the other clouds simply kept watching. Lines were drawn within the soil and out of them, there was a square that came.

Nightmare Rarity realized it was a structure under the soil that called her and the magical aura became even more powerful than it already was. Both of the clouds that were muttering on and against the other fell in silence when they heard the glass being torn to nothing but dirt.

What they caught was the shrouded entity who had picked up a large bit of grass, dirt and whatever else there was and threw it off to the side, inside of the fog and the bark of a tree could be heard snapping. Some of the clouds had to make way as the top of the tree came dangerously close to their location.

“What is it that you kept hidden before me?” Nightmare Rarity mumbled to herself. Her eyes stared down the gaping hole. Yet what she caught within her eyes, was something she could have never even dreamed about. A stone entrance with a thick seeming door that was literally in the middle of nowhere. Though the worst thing was, that it was calling for her.

It was something that she couldn't have dreamed about. But it also was something similar. For the ivory coated Rarity had found her cutie mark by being guided with her magic towards a single rock filled with gems. Perhaps it was a, considerable sick, way of history repeating itself.

She wanted to find out just what laid behind the doorway. The aura had become even more intense. Then it shot powerful beam right at it. Stone started to fly around while dust came forth. Yet the entity that was Nightmare Rarity remained in her position. Pieces of debris flew through the fog that was her and landed on a couple hooves before the clouds of the nightmare forces.

When the dust cleared up and the rain of stone ceased, the entrance into the mysterious structure became clearly visible for her. Satisfied with the hole created, she turned herself around and spoke to all of her forces at once. “Each and every single one of you shall remain here, I think I might have hit a gold mine here.”

After the words were spoken, it was Shadowfright who rushed forward and he dared to reply with words of his own. “You sure, my queen? Many things could be hidden within there that could easily end your life.”

A deep sigh left through the mouth of the entity with a growl following it. “I said, you’ll wait here! What part you don’t understand of it!? Go back to them now! If trouble arises, you’ll hear it soon enough,” Nightmare Rarity snarled to him.

Defeated by her words would the cloud of shadows return back to its original post. The creature turned itself back to the hole to see what came next. With water that entered her mouth and the magic only becoming stronger, she made the descent into the gaping hole.

Shadowblood on the other end, just shook himself from side to side before he spoke up. “You know, Fright, I start to doubt about this queen, truly doubting.”

“And would you as well shut that mouth of yours! I kinda got enough crap on my head if you don’t mind alright,” Fright returned in a snarl to him. Blood dropped himself to the ground and remained silent for the rest of the time being.

Some of the forces that had been standing and hovering next to them heard the words of course but gave them little to know attention. They only lived to serve their queen of darkness and at the moment, that being had made her departure into the underground building.

~~~~

Inch by inch she floated closer towards the door. Inch by inch she felt the air intake becoming more and more powerful. With the aura still around her horn shining ever so proudly, it would act like a torch for her to see in the darkness.

“This better be worth it, you stupid horn,” Nightmare Rarity spoke up to herself before she crawled passed the entrance. When she had passed the stone archway, there was the feeling of it closing in behind her. But the way she came, would become her exit as well. There was nothing that would fall or roll before it. Nothing that she could see at least.

“Suppose that’s lucky for the day,” she mumbled up to herself. The eyes were turned back into the distance. What they saw was something that was thought to be lost throughout the ages. Shelves high and rich spread themselves before the entity and it was clear just what had been found by her. “Unbelievable…” For she stood in one of the lost libraries of nopony else then the strongest and wisest unicorn of his time, Starswirl the Bearded.

An entire library that had been hidden under the ground, but why would it have been doing? What caused the stallion to be so afraid to seal it off for the world? Curiosity struck the unicorn and she went over a couple of the books.

All of them were tomes for spells that were unlike anything else she could have ever expected. Tomes of decay, darkness and death did she all found, just standing there. The infamous library of the dark arts was what she had discovered. The tomes she was looking at, weren’t a thing that suited her behavior nor nature. For all of those tomes were used by the very first Nightmare and the unicorn, tyrant king that was named Sombra.

Yet she couldn't resist it to look through the books. The eyes carefully went over each of the pages as she read the tomes of the mind. Only to quickly figure out they weren't for her liking. Too loud, too flashy and too unpredictable. She wanted something else. Something more subtle, equally as dangerous and perfect for a unicorn as she once was.

Seconds turned into minutes who on their turn became hours. She spend all of that time inside of the revealed library. But her magic hadn't given up the location if there wasn't anything of true value for her there. So she placed most of the books back where they belonged and continued on with her path down the main hall.

Her aura lit up the areas next to her bright so that she could see everything better. When Nightmare Rarity had reached the back wall of the place, she found something of her true interest. For against the back wall, on a desk that hadn't been moved in ages, there were a couple of scrolls sealed with the ancient celestial sign and above all, a gem that stood under a glass bell.

It was that gem alone, that had triggered the magic in the horn. It called for her, wanted to merge with her. “So very soon,” the queen mumbled to herself before she gathered more strength. With the aid of her magic had she molten the glass. Once all of it was just a liquid and hot mess, the gem remained unharmed and it was being levitated before the face of the foggy entity.

Even though it had been days to no end, the merging and transformation still hadn't been fulfilled as a whole. That, or they had been but she preferred her more spectral manner of traveling. It was truly impossible to tell from her thanks to the way she behaved. Everything about herself was kept hidden for the most part. All that was truly known was the fact she never liked to being reminded to her life as it was before the transformation.

Sometimes at night there were forces that heard her moaning softly in pleasure for whatever reason. None spoke about it as every force thought they were both normal for her and that all of them knew it. But the fact was that not every single force knew it and it was best kept that way.

~~~~

When she looked over to the gem itself, Nightmare Rarity’s interest grew only more and more towards it. It was shaped in the exact same one she wore as her cutie mark. A picture perfect gem in her eyes yet there was something else with it. For every time it came close to the horn, she felt herself stronger. Almost as if that little gem, one that was as high as her eye and wide as her pupil with iris, was some sort of amplifier of her magical powers.

It was something she had never even heard about before. Probably for the best of reasons there were. And then the whole gem just disappeared within the fog that was her. Gone for the eyes to witness. But then that she had taken it and her eyes looked all over the back wall to see if there were any defense mechanisms activated by it.

Nightmare Rarity turned herself even around to witness anything. But there simply was nothing. Much to her own relief. “Right then,” she said to herself and turned back over to the mysterious looking scrolls. With the celestial sign upon them, they were marked as truly dangerous but why they were just laying on the desk was something as a riddle for the entity.

With her magic she picked up one of the scrolls and broke it the seal without any form of honor. She rolled the scroll open from top to bottom. With her eyes she began to read more and more from it. Information beyond her wildest dreams was being processed within her brain and slowly came the lips of the entity forward.

Lips that were of a dark grayish to black coloring and they curled themselves up into a teeth revealing smirk of utter madness and malevolence. Whatever it was she was reading, she apparently liked it. A lot. A lot more than she should have been doing.

21 Not every present is a good one

A box was given to the cloud of shadows by nopony else then the very queen herself. She nodded towards the nightmare force with a calm but powerful one. The plan was known and the directions were given to the force. All that was resting to be done was for the message to be delivered and the chaos to be erupted soon afterwards. In the throne room itself had the cloud made one last bow to its queen. After that it would have slithered away from her. It left Nightmare Rarity upon the seating of the throne with a deep sigh.

“The tides are slowly changing, I can feel it in my bones and spells. The tables are standing at the point of being turned out of my favor. But the message should have them squealing for another set of months if not weeks. More than enough time to make some, rearrangements, in the plans,” the unicorn whispered to herself. A strand of mane fell before her right eye, but she didn’t care.

The strand itself wasn't even removed when the mare left the seating. She went up the stairs and towards the courtyard again. Some of the nightmare forces that were out there, looked over to their queen with a questioning gaze for a few seconds. Though then they continued doing what they had been doing for most of the time already.

In the blue rimmed eyes had the mare caught the gates being closed again and a grin formed itself with her lips. “This, will be my only message to the two of them. They better pray on their lives that they will be getting it straight away. If it is war they want, I shall give them a taste of what I can do,” mumbled Nightmare Rarity in a loud enough tone that all the beings around her could hear it. Yet it was the very tone in which she spoke her words that caused the shivers in the fibers of the beings themselves. Something about that whole creature was unsettling, then more than ever.

Never in their existence had they heard such a mixture of a posh and proper tone that would be able of speaking such sadistic words. Once more had she proved herself as the queen of fright in their eyes. All of the nightmare forces could only hope that Nightmare Rarity would be leaving them alone as soon as possible. Which luckily for them, she actually did. After she had spoken the words, the queen turned herself back over into the tower and ascended upon the stairs.

Once she had arrived in her chambers, the body would have been lowered upon the velvet cushioned sofa. When her belly made contact with the fabric and the hind legs had crossed one another, there was a loud and content moan which was slowly released through her mouth. A moan that caused the savages to look strange into her direction just to witness what was going on. The sights they saw were pretty much nothing of true interest for them four. So they turned themselves away again. They would leave their queen be, for the time being.

The remaining visible eye of the unicorn closed itself off from the word. Before anypony could even be saying a word to her, had she sunken into a light slumber. Even though she appeared to be asleep, the mind was still recalculating every single option that she had. Options when it came down to a war between her forces and the armies of both day and night.

It would have been a war that she would be losing quick in a head-on assault. That much was already certain for her. So perhaps the only way that she could actually get rid of both of the armies was perhaps not to fight them head first. Instead she had to flank them at all sides and take small pieces of it at any given time. Slow and steady, much like she had done everything up to that point.

That idea was more than fit for her. The queen loved to be taking her time with fairly much everything there happened to be. It was a sadistic wait she would have given to both the soldiers and generals for certain. Though there also would be some traps set out for her. No doubt that after the message given to them, the royals would be knowing exactly just who happened to be torturing the ponies. Meaning that it was going to be hear who was placed right in the spotlights of everything.

Though there always was that possibility that they wanted to negotiate with her. An option that seemed to be weak within her mind. Though it could give her some rather valuable information. Not to mention, it could give her time if it ever came that far. Because in that moment did the message still had to be delivered before the doors of the royals. Only after that would the decision be made. Whatever would have happened, it all came after the package was delivered.

Yet it didn't stop her from thinking about the thousand possibilities of after the little box had been dropped before the throne. Though without a warning had the eyes of the unicorn opened themselves again and the cat-like irises looked over the entire room with a singular glare. Only to confirm the suspicion that nopony was there outside of her. Nightmare Rarity rose her body up from the sofa with a deep inhale of fresh air.

Nightmare Rarity would finally have removed the strand of mane out of her eye. She placed it behind her ear before the head turned itself into the direction of the balcony. It was a much preferred place for the mare to go to and have a rest. It was perhaps even a place where she came more often than any other place inside of the tower, let alone her domain.

When the doors opened themselves did the nightmarish queen appear upon the floor and a deep exhale was released through her mouth while the horn charged itself up ever so gently. While the magic surged itself through the horn as well as the gem, the unicorn looked over the lands in the brought daylight and she gave her imagination the free wings to think of whatever it could actually think about.

In the meantime had the cloud of shadow who was send out to deliver the package to the castle of Canterlot, managed to unseen sneak its way up to the gates of the metropolis. With the eyes were looking with care through everything and everpony it met. The illusion to stick with the deepest shadows that it could find was performed. Only through that could it have survived in there.

It travelled through shadow and shadow, the cloud had remained hidden and the package unseen for prying eyes. That was the case until it arrived at the gates of Canterlot castle itself. The security was too uptight for its liking. Not to forget that the princess of the moon and sun being there at the same time. Wandering in didn't seem to be very good idea but the mailbox on the other end, did brought an entirely different perspective to the matter.

With a crackle in its voice would the cloud have traveled over to the mailbox of the castle. It placed the package right in it. Everything seemed to be just perfect with an address to return it to and all of that other official stuff. Another crackle was released by the nightmare force before it began to slither its way back to the domain of the queen. A queen who was waiting and imagining the very response they royals would be having about her little package. She wished that she could have seen it in person though.

~~~~

All of the five friends had been gathered in the throne room of the castle. They seemed to be helping out as some sort of adviser to the princess. It was all in an attempt to keep them both happy and busy during the day. Not a job that either Rainbow Dash or Applejack had wanted from their stay, but Twilight seemed to be doing a rather good job at it. Even Celestia herself had to admit that fact.

The only pony who was missing from the company was Luna herself. With her days literally shifted around by twelve hours, she most likely would be in bed at that time. Perhaps it was a good thing though as some of the matters that their ears heard were truly brain breaking.

Even the always so hyperactive Pinkie Pie sometimes went literally cross-eyed. She had not a single clue of the events that were going on. Though little did each of them knew, just what would be delivered to all of them.

“Hmhm, it’s not easy being a princess, now is it?” Celestia spoke up to the five of them with her soft and soothing tone. In response did all five of them quietly nodded with their head. None of them could have even imagined just how much time and effort there was stuck into keeping the land running. Most of them thought that it was just smile and wave, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was even something that caused nopony else then Twilight to think about the fact. How Celestia had managed to do it all when she took her as her student in? It seemed to be impossible for her to understand. Though the alicorn of the day had turned into her second mother. She had helped her to become the mare she was that day yet the land wasn't in total ruins.

Twilight never admitted it openly, but she had great respect for the princess no matter what others would be saying about her. A respect that was mutual for the mentor to the student.

“Mail!” the voice of a stallion spoke up. The trolley filled with bags of letters and packages rolled in with him. All five of them looked up towards the cart and their eyes went even wider. None of them even could believe the fact that so much mail had come in.

“F-From how many days is that?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She had almost jumped out of her chair at the massive pile of it. It looked like a literal mountain worth of mail.

“Days? This is from this morning,” the courier replied to the cyan pegasus. He came in further just a bit more before he made a small bow to Celestia. “Your highness.”

“Thank you,” the princess replied before she gave a nod to him. That very nod was the signal that he was allowed to leave the throne room and thus continue on his own duties.

“T-T-This m-m-morning,” Rainbow stuttered as she had fallen on her bum in a flabbergasted position and never seemed to have been able to keep her eyes off of the stack. “T-That can’t be right! It just can’t be, I refuse to believe that!”

“Oh, but it is, my dear Rainbow,” spoke Celestia before she released a giggle. The body of the mare rose up and she wandered down on the steps of the throne. With calm and grace did she went over to the trolley and turned herself around in order to look at the five mares. Her lips curled themselves up into a gentle smile as the horn charged itself up.

“But… how?! That, that’s what I’m not getting here!” The pegasus helped herself back up upon her hooves before the head was given a couple of shakes. Her little and feeble mind just couldn't understand one tiny bit from what was shown to her. Though perhaps it was best left unexplained to them all.

Yet the princess wanted to give them a visual demonstration. With her magic she took out of the packages and held it before the five of them. “Most of these packages contain a thankful letter, as well as a treat for my sister and myself to, keep up the good work, shall we say,” Celestia added. With her magic had opened the top of the box and the flap actually hid the content for the princess.

Her magic began to search inside of the box for the content and it eventually raised something to a gentle height. A height that still kept the content hidden from the princess but the five mares were given the sight of a lifetime. Whatever it happened to be that they saw, their eyes all went as wide as possible.

It was a mere second afterward had each of them released a near deafening scream of utter terror. The fear of the thing what they saw coming out of that box was something that not even Celestia could have expected. “Calm down girls, calm down, it’s not that bad now is it?” she said to them, unaware of the things that they saw in their own eyes.

“N-Not that bad, l-look for, yarself princess!” Applejack managed to being out of her mouth. It was just before Fluttershy jumped behind her chair in the shivers, almost if she had seen a ghost.

“Now I know you all are exaggerating a bit much here. There is nothing to be afraid about…” While she spoke her words had Celestia raised the object to a height that even she could see it and was already surprised. Celestia then turned it around. Within a second did she got the scare of her life as well. Her eyes would be looking straight into the closed ones of a severed head.

To be a little bit more correct, it was the severed head of a bat pony with purple mane. “…A severed head gotten into the mail, right. One doesn't see that every day.” the princess of the day quickly mumbled to herself. The head was then lowered again in the box and closed off for their eyes. “Wake my sister, she needs to be seeing this right here and right now no matter what. Tell her it’s urgent,” Celestia spoke up towards one of the guards. She remained oddly calm, but deep inside of her body was her heart racing like mad.

The guard gave the princess a salute before the post was left in order to wake the lunar princess. Though waking her up in the middle of the day could always have some nasty consequences for the waker. It was a price worth to be paid no matter what.

“And could you please calm down! Your screaming isn't exactly helping here,” the princess huffed to the five of them in an annoyed tone. It did help for them though. The sounds they all produced did lower themselves until they were all nothing but silent. “Thank the heavens for that.”

“W-Who could have p-possibly send it?” Twilight dared to ask after she had gotten more than enough of her guts together to actually do it. “Does, does it say where it’s from?”

~~~~

It was an excellent question asked by Twilight. The princess levitated the box closer to herself to read whatever was stamped upon it. The eyes went over pretty much everything before they came to a shocking conclusion. “Impossible,” she whispered to herself before a shake with the head was given. “No, no, no, this can’t be happening. It couldn’t have come from there. That’s about the last spot...”

“Well, speak up princess! We don’t take too kindly to waiting, not anymore,” Applejack growled in an annoyed tone. She wanted to have clear answered for a change of pace.

“Normally I wouldn't, but this time I side with Applejack, your highness,” added Twilight. Even more pressure was added upon the princess of the day. Pressure that turned itself into nothing but tension that could eventually break into a million pieces.

That was about the last thing that she wanted to have happened right there. So in order to give the mares the answer they were looking for, Celestia released a deep exhale through her mouth. Then she looked upon each mare with her violet rimmed eyes. “The package, this very package is send from a place that you five all know very well. It originates from Ponyville.” Suddenly went all of the eyes of the mares looked at one another in a genuine confused look. None of them could have ever even imagined that such a gruesome ‘gift’ could have been send from their sunny little town.

“To make it even worse, it’s coming out of a recently abandoned building. This very package, comes from the Carousel Boutique.” Those words alone were more than enough for the mare to look at one another as they just couldn't believe what was just spoken to them all.

~~~~

Though it also caused a rather unforeseen side-effect to be taken place in the throne room. The discussion heated up again and accusations flew around. Nopony had forgotten about Rarity even if they wanted to. That caused the tension between the five of them. “Ah told y’all, it’s Rares who’s behind everything! And look at it now, she is sending our princesses such gifts of horror. Ah say that that mare has gone completely insane and she’s planning to take over herself!” Applejack rambled about. She removed herself from the chair and did a couple steps into the throne room.

“Close the doors, nopony else needs to be hearing this,” Celestia quickly spoke up to another guard. One who executed the exact order. Her head turned itself over to Applejack before a shake was given to it. The cowgirl meant her thoughts well, but the manner in which she brought them forth was something she still needed to be working on from time to time.

Though the words caused both Twilight and Fluttershy to walk up to the cowgirl with an angered look in their eyes. The two were on the same wavelength when it came down to thoughts. Those thoughts were worded by Twilight. “And now you've gone too far, Applejack! Can you imagine if Rarity takes over?! She has to pass through both Celestia and Luna first, not to mention the entire army before she even can claim herself queen of all. It’s all illogical Applejack, illogical!”

“Well if yar knowing it all so well, why don't y’all just come up with an explanation for this entire mess! Ah even recon if you hadn't come to Ponyville in the first place, we wouldn't have gotten here in the first place.” Applejack replied to Twilight as their foreheads were pressed against one another with force applied by both sides. “So beat it, bookworm.”

“Applejack! That’s not how you are talking to a friend of yours, and you know it!” Fluttershy interrupted without any hesitation. Twilight herself had to fight for her tears to be staying inside of her eyes. “You two, need to calm down for a moment!”

“Oh Ah will Fluttershy, long after this little harbinger of bad news is out of mah life!”

“That’s enough!” Rainbow Dash shouted before she literally tackled the earth pony to the ground and laid her on her back. “Time to bring you some manners, pegasus-style!”

“Rainbow, Rainbow… no!” Celestia pleaded. She wanted to interfere between them, but the hit was already dealt. The hoof of Rainbow Dash met up with the cheek of Applejack before anypony could be doing anything.

“Don’t you dare,” the cyan pegasus spoke up in a growling hiss towards the princess. Who oddly enough did a step back to let the events roll as they would be doing. “You just listen to me, miss Grumpy. Just because we are in this mess, doesn't mean that Twilight is to blame! We can give anypony the blame but it doesn't get us out of it! You understand that, right? Right!?”

Nopony could even understand just what was going on between the two of them but it did seem like it was working. Though to make matters perhaps even worse, the other princess had arrived in the room. “Am I… interrupting, something here?” the voice of Luna then entered Celestia’s ear. The alicorn looked over to her side, only to see her sister.

“Don’t ask, just arrived,” Celestia commented with a worried tone in her voice.

“Ah,” was the only thing that came out of the mouth of Luna.

“Ah heard yah, yes,” Applejack replied to Rainbow who then pulled her back up. Before she would be doing anything else, the cowgirl walked over to Twilight and gave her a genuine warm hug as she felt herself sorry for the words. “Ah, Ah shouldn't have said those words Twi.”

“It’s, it’s alright Applejack,” the mulberry unicorn replied calm. One of her hooves traveled its way over to back of the earth pony to keep the hug going. “Thanks.”

“So now that is solved, you might want to tell me just what on earth is going on?” asked Luna with a genuine curiosity to her voice. She still didn't had a single clue of what had happened. Something that was reflected inside of her tired eyes.

“Oh, yes, though you’re not going to like it a bit,” Celestia said. It was just before she began to whisper within her sister’s ear. Who on her own turn nodded a couple of times as well as opened her eyes wider at a slow rate. Upon hearing certain words, Luna had only one desire. The desire to look in the box itself to see whether it was true or not. She couldn’t believe the words her sister said.

The horn of the younger sister charged itself up and the box was levitated over to her, just before it was being. Her blue rimmed eyes were looking down into it and almost immediately she got the feeling of emptying her stomach in her mouth. The horrific sight in the box, was truly just horrific. “Oh goodness me, this can’t be happening,” she whispered to herself. Then the box was placed upon the ground with the lid closed.

~~~~

“This, this is everything but good, girls. However, the truth also needs to be revealed to you all,” Luna managed to get passed her lips. She looked each of the ponies in their eyes with a serious gaze. Though it was Celestia who was having the biggest worries with it. Telling Twilight openly that they had lied to her, could she still be trusting them?

“Luna, are you sure about this?” Celestia whispered in an inaudible tone towards the other mare. The last thing that the alicorn of the day needed, were the other elements resigning.

Though Lina only gave a nod on her turn. Then she charged up her horn again and took a deep inhale. “I have been doing some investigating on my own and came to some rather, interesting conclusions. The head in the box, is indeed from one of my very own ponies. She was an informant for me, and a very good one at that. Her duty were never given upon paper, they had always been verbal,” the mare explained to the six of them

“You send an innocent pony straight into her death?!” Rainbow spilled out. It had become her turn to be a bit angry at the way everything was handled. Though in response did Luna shook her head. Almost as if she was saying that her words weren't true.

“Not straight into it, miss Dash. By following the leads I have gotten. I intended to keep them quiet until the time would have been there. Suppose the time is now here to reveal them.” Those very words even confused her older sister as it wasn't something they had agreed upon nor something that even she was knowing about.

“And what leads were you exactly following?” the cyan pegasus questioned her. Rainbow even gained the very guts to actually fly up to Luna and press her face into that of hers. One way or the other, she would be getting to know the fine details of everything about it all. Even though she didn't care about what the others would be thinking.

Luna on the other end just pushed the pegasus away before she was being held in a levitational field and brought back over to the rest of the group. “These, leads,” the princess of the night spoke up before she conjured both the diary and the letter out of her personal safe.

All of the ponies present –including Celestia herself– looked up in a massive surprise to the event as they were being played out. Nopony could have ever predicted that Luna had actually gone to such an extend to find something.

“While you all were lying in the hospital to recover from your dreams, I took the liberty to look around the boutique for a little bit and found these two items. Two common items which held the key to the subject we’re after,” Luna explained before she opened the diary of the ivory mare. She even began to search some of the entries that interested her the most.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Pinkie all of the sudden shouted. She hopped in between the groups of mares and the princesses. “You said you had been to the boutique, so…i t could also have been you who send the package!”

The initial response that Pinkie got for her words was that Luna huffed out a gentle cloud of steam. “You really think I would end the life of one of my personal ponies?! I haven’t done that since Nightmare Moon has left my body, thank you very much. Old habits don’t wear they say, I’m aware with that one. But that habit was gone in the blink of an eyes. And yes Twilight, it would be illogical if I did such a thing. Now if I may, please?” the lunar alicorn said to her.

Pinkie lowered her head with care. After that she had returned to the group. Twilight herself released a little but also embarrassed squee in response to the words. Only to finally aim their ears over to the words Luna would be speaking to them all. And each sentence that she would be speaking, would be even more surprising than the previous one.

Nopony had ever heard the unicorn complain about the nightmares she seemed to be suffering from. Not to mention given the fact that they had been going on already for such a long time through the mind of their beloved friend. Each of the mares was genuinely shocked as the princess of the night continued to read through the journal.

The fun didn't stop there sadly enough. When the diary was closed at the last entry was the letter still needed to be read. All of the ponies were already speechless, but the biggest smack in their faces still had to be delivered. The paper letter was brought before the eyes of Luna. She started to read the entire thing aloud for all of them.

When the final words, when the final name was being spoken, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and even princess Celestia herself looked at the lunar mare with an open mouth and a shocked confession.

“Emerald, Masquerade, my little ponies,” were the only words that Luna had to add to everything. That was the only next and obvious lead that they had.

~~~~

All the way over back in Ponyville, had none of the three little Cutie Mark Crusaders been able to actually shrug the facts off of themselves. They had seen them within the woods of White Tails. Neither Scootaloo nor Apple Bloom could be sleeping well. Because every time they closed their eyes, they would be seeing those horrible incarnations of both Applejack and Rainbow Dash respectively. It terrified them almost down to the core, seeing them in that demonic state of being.

But Sweetie Belle might have been the more curious case of it all as she never had been able to forget the moment that the two hearts were beating in sync just for that little bit of time. All three of them laid a bit scattered through the building. Sweetie laid upon a chair while Apple Bloom had taken her position in a beanbag whereas Scootaloo just laid on the floor with her belly down.

The silence in the place was something that had never been heard before. It almost seemed as if they weren't even there to begin with. Which they were to some degree. Their bodies laid within the walls of the building but their minds had been going all over the place. With the eyes wide open, none of the three dared to fall asleep even if they wanted it just so badly.

Their very own fears and frights were there as they had been there since their escape from the dreaded woods. Yet to break the eerie silence, Sweetie Belle was actually the very first one to speak up. “Hey you two,” she spoke up before her eyes went over to the other fillies. “You know we are like a couple dozen miles away from White Tails, right? I mean, that’s a lot of ground to cover for the both of them no matter what.”

It were words that caused the other two fillies to not only raise their heads up from either the beanbag or the floor and looked into the direction of the unicorn. Neither of them even seemed to be understanding a singular word of what was spoken against them. Yet they did cause the two of them to even leave their spots and walk closer towards Sweetie.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had their heads tilted to one side. They both tried to follow Sweetie Belle’s train of thought, but didn't seem to be getting far. Their minds tried, they really tried, but with the fears that were still in there seemed that any form of logical thinking had been thrown right out of the window.

It was something that caused the little unicorn to facehoof a little bit before she jumped off of the chair. Shen then wrapped both of her forelegs around the necks of her friends. What resulted in a massive hug from all three of the fillies. “What I’m saying is that nothing what you saw back there, ever would even be getting the of coming close to here. We’re safe here in Ponyville itself and the surrounding as they will remain inside of the woods themselves. You two following me?”

The other two fillies listened with care towards the words that were spoken. After that did their minds finally seem to have received the gap through which Sweetie spoke her words. The hug itself was tightened a little bit more while the two fillies closed their eyes with force. They even would have drilled those very same words right into their skulls.

Whatever it was that the two were trying to be doing, it seemed to be working more than well. For when they opened up their eyes again, that bright coloring had returned into them instead of the dulled out one the unicorn had to be looking at for some days. “Hey hey, there are some eyes I have missed!” she spoke up with a happy tone and gave both of her friends a nuzzle.

Though the nuzzle itself didn't seem to be that big of a success by either of the fillies, but they didn't minded it for the moment, as it was the little unicorn who managed to get them out of that circle they were landed in. “Okay, okay, enough of that Sweetie, but thanks,” said Scootaloo in a chuckle of her own.

Apple Bloom on the other end just blinked a couple of times with her eyes before she very quickly returned the nuzzle upon the nose of the unicorn. “Thanks Sweets,” she then spoke up herself with a smile from ear to ears.

The hug between the three fillies was broken and they all looked upon one another with that same smile clearly visible. They had managed to conquer the fears they had been walking with a set of days and they had to thank one of their friends for it with everything they had. However, for the unicorn filly herself could still hear that heartbeat deep inside of her head. Hidden away in perhaps the deepest and darkest part of it there was, it laid in wait. That rheumatic throbbing of the beat in sync with her own.

It was a little something that she couldn't be explaining to the other two fillies. Mostly just because of the fact that she didn't wanted to give them confusion that wasn't even necessary. “Hey girls,” Sweetie then brought forth before she turned into a bit more of a serious looking filly, “let’s drop anything we still had planned into those woods and never return to them, okay? Just to be sure that, things like these are never going to be happening again?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo listened to the words spoken and they couldn't be doing much else than to give a nod in response to it. For none of them –even if they didn't wanted to admit it– wanted to return to that cursed woods. No verbal response was given by either of the other two fillies, but the eyes spoke more than enough to justify just that.

Without a warning of any kind had the hoof of Sweetie Belle booped the nose of Apple Bloom before she spoke her words. “Tag, you’re it!” And after it she galloped like the wind to the door and down the wooden ramps to the field below.

The little cowgirl turned herself over to the pegasus with a grin upon her face. “Ya know what this means, right?” she spoke up as her hoof raised itself.

Yet just before she could actually tag Scootaloo, she had darted aside and chuckle to herself. “Too slow! Come and catch me if you can!” Not a single further word needed to be told towards the earth pony had set in the chase. The three of them ended up playing in the fields that laid around their clubhouse.

~~~~

“Emerald Masquerade, it isn't exactly a name I’m familiar with to say the least,” said Twilight to them all. She had given her mind the chance to actually think about the matter for once. Every single line that spoken by Luna, whether it came out of the diary or the letter and even after having read through them herself, caused the hammers to be smashing on the red hot metals inside of her head. She was working on a plan of some kind but it would be needing time in order to complete it.

Time they very well couldn't be having upon their side.

“Uhm, Twilight, if, if I may here?” Fluttershy squeaked a bit and was given the word to speak her thoughts. Whatever they could have been. “Thank you, all right then.” Her eyes looked over every pony that was present and the stage fright actually knocked louder than ever upon the door of the pegasus. But she knew that she couldn't back down whatsoever. All of the eyes were looking at her and she took a deep inhale to make certain that she wouldn't faint.

“Well, go on Fluttershy we’re waiting for you, again,” Rainbow Dash almost sarcastically spoke to her. She wanted the pegasus to just hurry up for once. Though in the case of Fluttershy, it probably wouldn't have been the most wise thing to be doing. “Today, if possible, thanks.”

The only response she got out of any of them, was a loud shushing from the others. “Okay, okay, geez,” the cyan pegasus added to her words. She sat down on her bum and crossed both of her forelegs around one another.

“Uhm, what I was about to say, was that I never had Rarity even once mention the name of the pony in the letter. And, she almost tells me everything of her life. Even when she needed to be finding a sport to interact with other ponies. Any of you knew, that she was, or actually still is, a master at fencing?”

“Wow, wow, wow, what did you say there Fluttershy?” Twilight said in a baffled voice. Even the confusion was clear in her eyes. “Did you just say that Rarity, fenced?”

The yellow coated pegasus gave a nod in return to the words before her eyes turned suddenly into a set with a worried expression. “Is, is that… bad?”

“Not at all! That, that is actually a good thing. Before all of you interrupt me, allow me to paint you all the picture here. Rarity doesn't tell us everything as we tell her for a reason. We see her as our most trusted pony as she can keep a secret or two. But Rarity, also needed a trusting pony and I think, she found it in you, Fluttershy,” explained Twilight. That had come out of her thoughts.

“A very likely theory indeed, Twilight, but that still doesn't explain just why the stallion contacted her on that random day,” replied Celestia to her most prized student. Those words had gathered the eyes of all the ponies present.

“Because, sister dear, the letter wasn't send by the real stallion. It was a fake but a very well written one. It was enough to lure the unicorn right into their trap. When I arrived at the castle of old, I looked into the past and something took control over her. I couldn't see what it was or how she looked. But something took over her entire body and spirit, explained Luna to not only Celestia, but to the rest of them as well.

“And why didn't ya tell this to us like, a few minutes ago?” Applejack muttered up. She was literally standing on the verge of throwing her hat to the ground. After that could she have stomped it just to release the frustration that had been building.

“I happen to be having my reasons as you happen to be having your own, Applejack. But that’s beside the point, I have told the lot of you everything that I knew about all of the matters going on. Even for me, from here on outward is new information. Information I like to have shared before anypony is ending up doing something stupid. Am I understood?” said Luna.

All of the mares present in the room nodded to the words that were spoken by Luna before she made a nod in return to them all. “Good.”

“Maybe...” Fluttershy then spoke up, breaking the silence. The words that she would be telling next could be the changing course of the entire events that were still going to be played out. “If we can find this stallion, and find the right one that is. Maybe we can lure Rarity out of, wherever she happened to be, and he can convince her to leave whatever it is that changed her, and thus having our friend back. It, it’s just an idea here.”

“And a brilliant one at that Fluttershy!” Twilight exclaimed in happiness. All of the sudden did she saw everything just so clear before her eyes. “Listen up everypony, I know exactly what it is that we need to be doing in order to save Rarity.”